Why am I rooting for Michael Vick?

For the record, I love animals. I've experienced unlocking and enjoying 3 cats in my adult life and an amazing dog while growing up. My father in law has raised and trained over 20 Labrador retrievers---I've experienced 4 or 5 of them. If my allergies weren't so bad, there would be at least one dog wagging his tail in our house.

So why am I rooting for Michael Vick?

Michael is the former Atlanta Falcons superstar quarterback whose life unraveled when it was discovered he ran a covert dog fighting operation at his mansion. I knew of his athletic ability but what I saw of him in interviews and lifestyle, I sized him up as a punk. It wasn't just the dog fighting ring---that's bad---but he also showed heartless and callous disregard for the dogs that no longer had purpose. They were tortured and killed in awful ways.

He was busted, charged, sentenced, and sent off to prison for a couple of years. Along the way his fortune evaporated, he declared bankruptcy, and the hue and cry for his scalp was deafening. During the trial, he declared a newfound faith in Jesus Christ which was met by snickering. My old morning show partner D Steward told me that if you wanna meet Jesus, just go to any jail. Everybody's on board.

In stepped Tony Dungy, the former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Tony volunteered to mentor him in prison to prepare for his return to the outside world and, potentially, the NFL. I'm not privy to what happened in those meetings--but Tony is the real deal when it comes to faith.

Michael landed with the Philadelphia Eagles. The protests began. The vitriol flowed. The anger continued. I get it---people feel he hadn't been punished enough, and cruelty to animals---especially to animal lovers---is nearly unforgivable. Many are not letting up, there are websites devoted to organized protests, you can buy T-Shirts that chastise Vick, and many shake their head in disbelief when discussing the guy.

So why am I rooting for him?

It's selfish. I'm sensitive to anyone who has been broken and is attempting to reconcile their life. It could be total fabrication---but let's assume for a second that his faith is real and his declarations are true. If that's the case, then we've got to apply the words of Paul in 2nd Corinthians; Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come.

What if our sins were as public as Michael's? When I take a stroll through the 10 commandments, I've broken them all. What if someone took it upon themselves to follow me around to inform the rest of the world I haven't been punished enough?

I'll save them the trouble. I know I haven't been punished enough. By every measure of how God expects of us to live with Him--I've fallen short. In my 25 years away from God, I racked up enough citations to earn myself eternal damnation. God could have punched my ticket a long time ago.

Except for that moment in April 2000. At the second I went to my knees and asked Jesus into my heart---it was done. In fact, it was done over 2000 years ago when we all nailed Him to the cross and He took it for us. All the junk I pulled---all the Michael Vick punk behavior---even you--the person who wants Michael Vick to suffer as much as his dogs did--our sin was forgiven.

Once a punk, always a punk? Maybe. Time will tell. He could wind up cratering his life again and you can say 'I told you so'. Until then--I'll go with the hope that real faith does change lives and the gratitude that my sins aren't on display to anyone except the One who forgave them.