Second Chances

Watching a piece on ESPN about Chris Herren titled ‘Unguarded’.


Chris was a star high school basketball player from Massachusetts who played at Boston College and Fresno State. He had drug problems and left BC.

Jerry Tarkanian had just become the new coach at FS and called Chris to come and play for the Bull Dogs. Tarkanian, former coach of UNLV, said he was getting a second chance and he wanted to give Chris a second chance.

Herren went on to play for the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics in the NBA and for teams in other countries – Italy, China, Turkey and a few others. He used cocaine, Oxy and heroin while he was playing. He was ultimately arrested for using drugs and was in and out of rehab several times.

The piece showed Chris, now clean for several years, talking with students in middle school or high school, a high school sports team, military personnel and prison inmates about his journey through life and his fall from the pinnacle of professional basketball to a junkie.

It seems like everyone likes to see stories about others getting second chances.

But I think what happens more frequently is that people aren’t willing to givesecond chances to others who have done something to them. Those of us who are Christians are directed not to be judgmental. When we don’t forgive, when we don’t give others second chances we are being judgmental. Jesus died so we could be forgivenand we would have more than second chances. He expects us to forgive others to give them second chances.

Who do you need to give a second chance? What are you waiting for?