I liked watching Jimmy King play professional basketball. He was a gifted, but mediocre talent. He made the news recently when he was arrested while conducting a basketball clinic at St. Mark Baptist Church in Detroit. He apparently has a business working the church circuit teaching kids to play basketball. His offense is base and amoral. He allegedly did not pay his child support. King owes $17,209. Would a Christian do that? Would a Christian leave his child without support? How does that fit with the message of Christ?
I always ask the question because it needs to be asked. If you claim to be a Christian, it follows that you should act the part. It’s behaviors that are important, and not what you believe. If you owe child support, you must pay it. Doing so makes you a responsible member of society. Failing to do so can make you a criminal (and a hypocrite). A Christian should know this. If they don’t, what is the point of the Christianity? What is the social utility of being a Christian when it does not produce people who walk the walk?
Is Jimmy King a Christian? He claims to be a Christian, so must be one, but he’s not a good person. Can you be a bad person and a Christian at the same time? I don’t think so. Good people pay child support.
