By Brad Locke
November 4, 2005

(AgapePress) - Alex Rodriguez's pristine image is in great peril. This according to his employer, the New York Yankees. The New York Daily News reported that the team wants A-Rod to stop frequenting illegal poker clubs for fear his image might be tarnished.

So, basically, the team is asking Rodriguez to keep up appearances, because goodness knows that's more important than what lies behind that lady-killer smile and those entrancing blue eyes (I know I'm a guy, but he does have cool eyes; Cal Ripken-esque, if you will). Maybe if teams were half as concerned with reality as they were with façades, we'd have fewer troublemakers posing as athletes.

But as Andre Agassi famously said, "Image is everything." That's as true in sports as anywhere. Why else would the NBA establish a dress code? Sure, looking professional should be required, but it isn't going to change the people under the Armanis. A jerk in a suit is nothing more than a well-dressed jerk.

That's one of our country's biggest problems. We spend so much time and energy worrying about externals that we neglect the internals. But eventually, the true inner self will subdue the contrived image and reveal itself to the whole world. It happened with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Mark McGwire and so many others who turned out to be so tragically different from what they once seemed. (I know what you're thinking: "MJ? Tragically different?" Have you forgotten his gambling habit and unfaithfulness to his now ex-wife?)

It's what happens to a "self-made" man. Instead of letting God mold him into what he should be, he tries to construct an image that the world would approve of and that he can hide his true self behind. Time and man's sinful nature have a way of crumbling such walls.

Many pro athletes have a "morality clause" in their contracts that prohibit them from engaging in questionable activities, such as sex parties (see: Minnesota Vikings), gambling and voting Democrat (ha!). But seriously, these clauses are necessary to protect players from any legal trouble and, even more important (*wink, wink*), to prevent them from becoming unmarketable.

Marketability is becoming less of an issue these days, though. Kobe is already doing magazine ads for Nike. This is because (a) the corporate world isn't as concerned with integrity as it once was, and (b) neither is the average American. It's not widespread forgiveness that's the cause of this; it's widespread moral indifference.

I really don't think A-Rod's patronage of illegal poker clubs will do much harm to his image in most people's eyes. It will in my eyes, but then, I'm not too concerned with his image one way or the other. My greater concern is to see him embrace Christ and allow Him to peel away the layers of worldliness, so that a new, better Alex Rodriguez can be seen by the world.

That's the kind of image we should all strive for -- the image of Christ. We were made in God's image, so why would we want to reflect any other kind?