Proverbs 24:24-26,  He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:  But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them. Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.

As I watched tee ball game after tee ball game this week I saw the second verse of this passage lived out on the playing field.

He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:

The "He" in this verse that sayeth unto the wicked: Thou art righteous, could very well be the tee ball umpire.

Tee ball umpires say much and sometimes they say much to the wicked.

We know that each batter comes to bat to get on base and then to get around to home plate.

As far as the game of Tee ball is concerned if the batter gets on base he is righteous.

Doesn't the crowd cheer if he does?

Isn't the manager happy when the batter successfully gets to first base?

Doesn't Momma smile and Daddy turn to the crowd with his face covered with pride?

Don't they think their child did right in getting on base?

So rewards go with getting on base!

Don't rewards go to the righteous?

But if they do not get on base but hit a fly ball that is caught no one cheers, but many moan.

Daddy is silent and pride vanishes from his countenance.

Mother cries, that's all right son, knowing that its not really all right!

The fans are disappointed in such a poor showing.

What a wicked boy for not getting on base.

There is no reward for not getting on base, in fact there is a price exacted.

Social condemnation.

So as far as the game of Tee ball is concerned if the batter doesn't get on base that batter is wicked.

The wicked are punished. The wicked are unrewarded.

Therefore there are the righteous and the wicked in Tee ball.

Now that we have established the ground rules lets apply this to this verse.

How true in the game of Tee ball.

How purely true in sporting events that require judges.

Here is the situation.

The Tee ball player hits the ball hard and begins to run, passing first base on the way to second.

He is facing judgment as the umpire moves into position to make the call.

Will he be declared wicked or will he be declared righteous?

The umpire is poised to make the call but perhaps does not give all his attention to the play.

The boy slides into second base and is tagged by the shortstop.

The umpire calls him safe when it is obvious that the player is out.

The player is therefore wicked but the umpire calls him righteous.

What is the result. The people that have a vested interest in the game curse that umpire.

A formerly relatively peaceful and happy group turns on that judge in blue and they abhor that poor fellow.

Why, because he did not judge righteously when he should have done so.

He was given authority to judge, he was paid to judge, he was expected to judge righteously but he failed in his responsibility.

He judged the wicked as righteous and brought upon himself the curse of the people.

Judgment is an awesome thing and it carries with it great responsibility.

Man was made in the image of God and as such still retains in his fallen state a craving for fairness, for righteous judgment.

And whenever righteous judgment does not come that image of God, though distorted, shows itself in a cursing of those who do not use their authority rightly.

This is a God implanted force in man and as such a gift of God to keep authority as honest as can be while it functions within the curse of sin.

No doubt this craving for fairness, this craving for justice, is connected to self interest as in the case of tee ball fans but it is a vestige of the image of God in man.

Therefore as far as tee ball is concerned there is no greater blessing to the people than an umpire who calls the wicked, wicked and the righteous, righteous.

Umpires have reputations that precede them and people are normally content with those who judge righteously.

A just call on the ball field receives the approval of the people.

It is a delight to the people and a good blessing shall come upon the umpire instead of a good cursing.

As it says in our proverb,  But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them. Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.

Now I have never seen a fan kiss the lips of an umpire so I assume this is symbolic.

I assume this means that the umpire will be respected, (I was going to say loved but I will not go that far).

An umpire who giveth a right answer is a blessing in the land for he conducts himself in a manner that promotes peace and contentment.

He is an umpire who by using his authority rightly insures justice and by insuring justice promotes godly quietness.

His very acts keep the wicked heart of man at bay.

There are always tee ball fans poised in the stands that are at the ready to curse an unjust decision.

They are waiting to perform their duty and itching to enter into any fray.

But to those umpires that rebuke rightly these fans are quieted and kept poised but not activated.

And for that, every man should kiss the lips of the umpire who respects not persons in judgment and does not say to the wicked, thou art righteous.

How important to the contentment and happiness of the people is authority who exercises that authority in justice!