He Got Game

Many years ago, my dad recommended a movie for me to watch. I was currently into basketball after deciding that baseball was something I no longer wanted to do. I remember  the day i finally decided to quit playing baseball. My mom was taking me to practice and I had begun to cry, saying "I don't want to go." She accepted my decision  and no longer took me to practice. Since i was into basketball, being young with a slight temper, continuously blaming my father for the way things were due to his absence, he suggested that I watch the movie He Got Game (1998) directed by Spike Lee who's known for making films with in dept meaning and how culture influences the black community. It's a story about a great basketball prospect by the name of Jesus Shuttlesworth (Ray Allen).  His father, Jake Shuttlesworth (played by Denzel Washington) pushes him as a young boy to be the best player that he can possibly be. One night, Jake gets upset with Jesus and what appeared to be his attitude and started to grab him. His mother tried to end the dispute, but ended up getting shoved by Jake where she hits her head on the stove, and dies. There's a consistent struggle between father and son, leaving the son's heart full of hate while the dad seeks redemption after being release from jail to influence his son to choose the hometown college to continue his basketball career. One famous line from the movie that I remember is " You take that hatred out your heart, boy, or you're gonna be just another n****...like your father." My father was telling me, through other means, that despite what he's done in the past, the present is NOW and that I can't continue to to have hatred in my heart that could puncture a hole in my soul. As young men, our father's absence creates a void we try to fill through the years with relationships with women, drugs, and other addictive habits. Even our respect for women diminishes, leaving us incapable of conducting pure companionships. Men...if ever you find yourself empty from not having a dad in your life, remember that God is your father because, well, HE MADE YOU! Like Tony Evans said, if you're going to blame someone because of who or what you are, don't blame your parents, blame him because HE MADE YOU and when he did, he knew what he was doing. He never makes mistakes. Turn your hatred into love. God has created us with unlimited potential to display acts of kindness, love, and sincerity. Don't allow your parents' past to dictate your future and present feelings. What happened in the past is in the past. God is of the now, promising that your past has been forgiven and your future is in HIS hands...if you completely allow him authorization. My dad isn't perfect and neither am I. God has protected me, provided for me, given me words of wisdom, and given me devine authority to establish my manhood, placing him first where I'm steady saying "this life...is not my own". Commit to him and you'll never have to question your dad's intentions...ever again. There will absolutely be no need.