Two 10-year-old best friends convinced their dads to take them to a soccer game at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The big attraction was soccer star David Beckham. The boys talked about the day, dreamt about it and even made a sign for Beckham.
After the game, Beckham walked over to where the two boys were sitting, removed his jersey and threw it over the fence to them. Eric Kerr’s son was holding the sign and Wilfred Ho’s son who caught the jersey. That is where the trouble started.
The Kerrs claim that Beckham saw the sign and intended their boy to have the jersey. The Hos claim that their son caught it, so it belongs to him.
On April 10, the Hos received a letter from the Kerrs’ attorney demanding the return of the shirt. In turn, the Hos attorney responded that they were the rightful owners and that they were not giving the shirt up. The case is now headed to court and the one time best friends do not speak to one another anymore.
Sadly, that story is not unusual. Too often, we let little things ruin the big, important things. We sacrifice people and relationships because of things and positions. Pride, selfishness, greed, and many other ungodly attitudes get in the way of maintaining healthy, strong relationships. Too often, we “Win the battle, but lose the war”.
No matter who wins the David Beckham jersey battle, the Kerrs and the Hos have lost the war because they have lost their friendship.
Here is a radical idea: “Why not rather just be wronged?” That was Paul’s advice to the church in Corinth. In fact, that same verse says, “The very fact that you have lawsuits (and all kinds of other fights) among you means that you have been completely defeated already” (1 Cor. 5:8). Some things are just not worth the cost of the fight.
It is important not to let “little things” become “big things”.
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