The Evil That Men do...
Sumo had an exciting ending today. I mean exciting! So much so that I am so excited – it elevated my mood by 1000% and I was just laughing and just expressing myself at what I watched.
First, I wondered who was the last Rikishi to fight Hosh and realized I had not seen Wakamotoharu. Sure enough, it was him. It’s interesting how I keep a banzuke in my head and realize who I have not seen. Yesterday or the day before, I thought to myself that I didn’t see Midorifuji and Daiesho and when I rewatched, it turned out that they fought each other when I got up for a brief moment. I tend to learn from Sumo so I'm going to share one of my Sumo Lessons today.
Well, why was today’s final match exciting for me?
Let me give a little history here:
In the last tournament, Hoshoryu, the Yokozuna, side-stepped Wakatakakage, who was a Sekiwake at that time – the third highest rank. Yokozuna is the highest rank. A side-stepped is called a “Henka”. It is not an illegal move but it is frowned upon. This happened on day 14. I really felt a Yokozuna shouldn’t pull that move. Also in the same tourney, I felt Hoshoryu stepped aside with Hakuoho. So I felt he had two of them. I actually examined this in my personal journal because I felt he was going to reap what he had sown and while he may have gained wins in those matches, he wasn’t going to win the tourney. There is something about dishonest gain – it seems to benefit but in the end, it costs so that it’s not worth it. The book of Proverbs says a lot about Dishonest gain or Ill-gotten gains. Sure enough, he did not win the tourney.
I wasn’t worried about his side-step with Hakuoho because it was rather slight and really positioned him to get his mawashi (belt). But when he side-stepped Wakatakakage, I was concerned for Hoshoryu and, who I like to affectionately call Hosh. Why? The last time I recall Wakatakakage pulling a Henka, it was to payback someone who had done it to him previously. So I felt he was going to get back at Hoshoryu somehow. I kept saying and thinking along the lines of “I fear for him” because I knew it was simply a matter of when because he was going to pay for it somehow.
Did I mention Wakatakakage is Wakamotoharu’s brother?
So in this tourney, Wakatakakage fought Hoshoryu two days ago. Wakatakakage lost his rank and moved down the Banzuke after the last tournament. Today, He didn’t look like he was going to pull a henka and indeed he did not pull a revenge henka but fought Yokozuna Hoshoryu fairly and lost. Yesterday the Hoshoryu fought Hiradoumi and won. Wakatakakage fought Aonishiki and pulled a henka. I was surprised to see him do that. I wanted to hug Aonishiki and hoped he would bounce back today – he did. I also felt Wakatakakage had redeemed what was done to him somehow. I was not happy about that henka.
Well, in today’s match, Wakamotoharu, his brother, faced Hoshoryu. Did he look like he was going to pull a henka? Of course, not. These two aren’t people who are known for pulling henkas. But guess what? He did and it gave the Yokozuna his second loss. It seemed like the perfect henka in that he actually stepped aside and leapt in the air. I was like “Whoa!” Because I recalled what Hoshoryu did to his brother the last time and I felt that it was
Hoshoryu reaping what he had sown
Revenge for his brother.
In his interview however, Wakamotoharu did not say it was revenge for his brother but gave a reason that sounded “reasonable”. The important part of it all is that he planned it. He planned to do it and went ahead and did it. That’s what he indicated in the interview.
I felt that while Wakatakakage may have won with the henka yesterday but it will only cost in the end. There really is a lot about “dishonest gain” in the book of Proverbs but I read one recently that I’m trying to remember:
The wicked earns deceptive wages,
But he who sows righteousness gets a true reward.
Proverbs 11:18 NASB
The personal note I have on “deceptive wages” says:
Deceptive wages look like wages but in the end, they cost and really don’t pay. It is an offer of temporary benefits.
The book of proverbs says a lot about Dishonest gain. Early last year, I took time to write verses where it mentions dishonest gain. But I think I missed some of them like this one:
“...and the deeds of a man's hands will return to him”
Proverbs 12:14b NASB
My personal note on that verse is simply “hard work pays” and it does. But so does evil. The thing with life is that you reap what you sow, more than you, later than you sow.
Jesus Christ said it best: do unto others…
If you don’t want someone pulling a henka on you…well, don’t do it to them. If you are doing it to them, it follows that you are okay with them doing it to you. Something interesting I’ve found in life is that people don’t like a taste of their own medicine. They do it to others but when it’s done to them, they don’t like it. Hoshoryu didn’t look happy today. Personally, I didn't think someone could pull a henka on him but somehow, he charged forward in a way that was similar to how Wakatakakage charged forward when Hoshoryu side-stepped and it was so similar that I find it interesting how he charged forward that way when I don't think he usually does. LIife!
What I found interesting is that people in the crowd were cheering the henka pulled on him. My guess is that they remember what he did less than two months ago. However, the crowd were not cheering yesterday when Wakatakakage side-stepped Aonishiki – clearly, they were not pleased with that henka. I even heard something that sounded like a “boo” when he was leaving. I don’t like the henka being used and I think most people don’t like it. There weren't cheers last time when Hoshoryu henka’d Wakatakakage either - It was a similar reaction when Wakatakakage did that to Aonishiki yesterday. But in terms of Hoshoryu being served a cup of his own tea, there were big cheers in the crowd. Memory – I’m guessing most people remembered what he did. I don’t think he should be mad. If he thought it fair play to do it to someone else, he shouldn’t be mad when the same thing is done to him. However, I can understand that it still stings regardless so I understand if he's upset about this. I really feared for him the last time and wished he hadn’t pulled the henka because I felt all he’s done was issue an IOU and would need to repay it down the road. Indeed, the demand for payment came sooner than I thought. He paid with a career kinboshi among other things.
So, that was what my excitement was about. I wasn’t rooting against anyone; it’s that I saw someone reap what he sowed in an unexpected fashion. Considering how life works, I felt confident he may have gained with the henka to be in the playoff but I knew such benefits are temporary and usually have you work and look like you’re winning only to lose in the end. Since one reaps more than they sow, it cost him last time and here he is getting payback. My opinion: I really thought Hoshoryu could’ve won against both Hakuoho and Wakatakakage last tourney. I didn’t see the need for him to do what he did. At a minimum, I felt he could beat Hakuoho but maybe I’m wrong because Hakuoho faced him on Day 1 in this Basho and beat him. No, he didn’t pull a henka. Hakuoho isn’t someone I expect to do that.
The thing about sowing and reaping is that you reap more than you sow and later than you sow. It was Charles Stanley I heard say: you reap what you sow, more than you sow and later than you sow. It wasn’t a matter of “if” Hoshoryu was going to get henka’d; it was simply a matter of when. I just wasn’t expecting it to happen this soon.
There is something people forget when they are doing evil and are reminded about sowing and reaping: it is that it may not be the very person repaying you back. So that if you are being mean to someone of another color or different status because you think you will never be their skin color to experience that same injustice or you won’t be of their status to experience such a treatment, remember that Injustice will find you in some way. It may be something else in life that happens where you say “that’s not fair”, forgetting that you yourself have preyed on others and have been unjust to them. Have you noticed how in the Old Jewish culture, certain people were thought to have sinned as a result of their plight. Jesus was asked concerning the Blind Man who sinned? Whether his father or mother. In his case however, the Lord explained it was neither. It wasn’t the man nor his parents.
I say that to point out that there was this belief that it came back to the person. I see that in certain ways with people. Have you noticed that the 22 year old gunning people down doesn’t make it to 25 himself? He dies by the very same gun violence he orchestrated on others. Or you find someone who wonders “why me?” forgetting that 10 years ago, they did wickedness to another and Judgment Day has come for them. It may have been a harmless frat party where your colleagues “encouraged” you to molest some freshman girl. You got away with it but here you are 4 years later where you have your thumb taken from you so that as good looking as you are, your self-esteem now suffers and takes a mental toll on you. You forgot that you also “took” something from that young girl years ago and now life has repaid by taking from you.
Of course you have changed; you know better and wouldn’t dare do that. But the way life works is that you do not put an apple seed in the ground and harvest oranges later. If you put apple seeds in a field and come back to find an orchard, don’t ask why you are seeing apples because you have changed prefer oranges these days. Some reap moments later, some reap days and weeks later and others reaps years and decades later. As to when exactly, we do not know when Life will demand repayment. A lot of time, the time to repay comes a time when you cannot afford to repay. It’s why I feared for Hoshoryu last time when he did what he did – that someone might henka him when he really cannot afford to lose one more. I don’t think that’s what happened here because he’s got more days to go and the two loss isn’t bad although he’s got some tough opponents to face down the road. So keep in mind that you don’t get to choose when to repay.
Also keep in mind that you are likely to get your due while on this earth. You will know when you are weeping and gnashing your teeth right here on this earth.
If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
Proverbs 11:31 NIV
I recall being asked to look for someone years ago. I found his brother and he shared that the person I was looking for was in a nursing home in another state. He had become “a vegetable” and that it was someone who was keeping up his apartment and collecting his pension checks. I was asked to look for him because he had done something rather wicked to a woman who really couldn’t defend herself many years ago. When I shared what had been told to me, his brother said he didn’t know the details but shared what he knew and his involvement and that really confirmed the story I had heard and filled some holes in the story. Unknown to the woman who had been wronged, Justice had caught up with the man about 7 years prior and he died two years after I went looking for his brother. The devil may offer temporary benefits but at what cost? You may not lose your soul in that moment but you pay in this way, that way and those ways.
In the case of Hoshoryu, he lost a match making him part of the two loss group. He also gave away a Kinboshi (Gold star award) because Wakamotoharu is also now a Maegashira rank and filer so beating a Yokozuna earns him that. He also lost a large wad of kensho (prize) money. But worse, his chances of winning the Yusho as a Yokozuna are very slim at this time. Was it worth these costs? Especially when you know that dishonest gain benefits temporarily and it really doesn’t pay so that you win the battle but lose the war. Did he think he couldn't happen to you? Remember this verse: The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. (Psalm 103: 19)
I believe what the Bible says in Deuteronomy 32:35:
It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them."
When I see this happen, it reminds me that God is there – He is sovereign over all and executes justice. He may not do it right away but his word says he “will repay”. So it’s not a matter of if but simply a matter of when. When will it happen? We are not usually told the when.
The problem is that Justice can sometimes take a long time to happen and so men forget. As I have observed examples of people reaping what they have sown, it reminds me of God’s sovereignty and his justice. The Bible reminds us that righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne (Psalm 89:14). The thing is that if you do something against someone and they retaliate, thank God they did. For do you want The Almighty repaying you for the evil you have done? We all want God to repay us for the good we’ve done because we know he gives more than we deserve.
Whoa, that last sentence reminds me again of something I heard Arthur Branch say on Law and Order: “even the wicked get more than they deserve”.
I guess it goes both ways. God gives exceedingly and abundantly and the question is: If God is to repay you exceedingly and abundantly, do you want to be repaid for good or for evil? The choice is yours: sow what you want to reap.
Oh well, such is life. The lesson is that we are mindful of what we do because the Apostle Paul says this:
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Galatians 6:7 KJV
Again, remember what the Lord Jesus Christ said:
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Luke 6:31 NIV
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