The Edomites

Earlier this week, Allen Iverson released his memoir. The book is entitled “Misunderstood” and charts his rise from the projects of Newport News,Virginia to the pinnacle of professional athletic success. If you have never heard of Allen Iverson or watched him play Basketball, shame on you. LOL.

During his heyday, Iverson was a phenom. Long before the advent of the recent technology, Iverson was called A.I. Another one of his nicknames was “The Answer.” An 11× NBA All-Star, 2× NBA All-Star Game MVP, 3× All-NBA First Team selection, 4× NBA scoring champion, NBA Most Valuable Player and an  NBA Rookie of the Year, Iverson also was a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, and had his #3 jersey retired by the Philadelphia 76ers.

What made Iverson so unique was his size. He was only 6 feet tall and probably weighed 165 pounds (when dripping wet, as one observer pointed out).  Iverson was a little man in a big man’s game.  But he played with a swagger and a style that belied his size. 

I remember the first time I watched him play. I was living and working in Washington, DC. On Saturdays, a group of my friends and I would crowd into a sweltering high school gym to watch some of the best summer league basketball we’d ever seen. The day Iverson played, he did things on a basketball court that I had never seen, and haven’t seen since.

Given my respect for his mastery of his craft and my love for the game of basketball, I devoured his book. As I often mention, I am a student of success.  Success always leaves clues—so I wanted to see what lessons I could learn from his journey. Perhaps the most significant lessons that I gleaned from his memoir were less “lessons” and more “reminders."  His memoir reminded me that none of us arrive at our destiny without the help of others. Despite how gifted and talented he was, Iverson still needed the love, support, encouragement and assistance of countless people, most of whom he acknowledges and thanks. Iverson says that his college coach John Thompson “saved his life.”

But his memoir also reminded me of an equally instructive truth. Just as John Thompson saved his life, there were countless others who were determined to destroy it. After reading Iverson’s life story, it reminded me of how wide the gulf is between those who help you and those who don’t or won’t. Moreover, the latter usually outnumber the former.

My mind ran back to the days when the church I am blessed to lead first started.  We desperately need some chairs to accommodate our rapidly growing congregation. I reached out to a “preacher-friend” in the city who I knew had several hundred chairs in storage.  I called him. He confirmed that he had the chairs and said we could borrow as many as we needed. We scheduled a time to meet and pick them up. On the day of the scheduled pickup, my “preacher-friend” never arrived. Nor he did call to cancel or reschedule. In fact, several weeks later, he called and we had an entire conversation. The “missed” appointment was never mentioned. Ten years later, it still has not been. At first, I was angry, Then, I was disappointed. But now, I have just realized that everybody isn’t going to help you. Some people can’t help you. But some people won’t help you. My “preacher-friend” had the ability to help.  But apparently he did not have the interest or the willingness to do so. I call this crowd the Edomites.

The name comes from an incident in the history of Israel that is worth remembering. As they were headed to the Promised Land, the children of Israel arrived in the city of Edom, which occupied a strategic geographical position in ancient times. According to Numbers 20:14-21, this is what hapenned:

Moses sent emissaries from Kadesh to the king of Edom with this message:

Will you give us permission to cut across your land? We won’t trespass through your fields or orchards and we won’t drink out of your wells; we’ll keep to the main road, the King’s Road, straying neither right nor left until we’ve crossed your border.” The king of Edom answered, “Not on your life. If you so much as set a foot on my land, I’ll kill you.” The People of Israel said, “Look, we’ll stay on the main road. If we or our animals drink any water, we’ll pay you for it. We’re harmless—just a company of footsore travelers.” He answered again: “No. You may not come through.” And Edom came out and blocked the way with a crowd of people brandishing weapons. Edom refused to let them cross through his land. So Israel had to detour around him.

Israel was not a threat. But the Edomites would not help. Israel was not interested in taking anything. But the Edomites would not help. Israel only wanted to shorten their journey, But the Edomites would not help. All they had to do was stamp Israel’s passport. But they would not do it. Not only would they not let them travel through the country, but they actively opposed Israel. Edom “came out and blocked the way.”

The Edomites may have been an ancient community from biblical times. But they are far from extinct. Their descendants are alive and well. They work with us, worship with us, and live with us. You would do well to face an unfortunate fact: everyone is not going to help you. Some can’t. But others won’t.

However, Israel got the Promised Land anyway.

Allen Iverson succeeded anyway.

And so will you.

Stop focusing on and complaining about who won’t help you.

Maneuvering around the Edomites is a nonnegotiable part of the journey.