Deferred Compensation for Eternity

God's sweetheart deal for mankind beats the payout to Bobby Bonilla

Sometimes the news industry is as predictable as Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. They tell the same stories in the same cycles. One of their annual rites on July 1 is to tell the story of Bobby Bonilla Day, an unofficial celebration of the deal that Bonilla struck with the New York Mets.

Bonilla had a rocky history in his two tours with the Mets, from 1992-95 and in 1999. For a superstar baseballer, he played especially poorly during his second stint. To release him from the contract early, the Mets had a choice — pay a lump sum of $5.9 million or defer Bonilla’s salary until 2011 and pay him about $1.2 million a year through 2035. The Mets chose the latter.

Every soul has a choice, too. Enjoy the pleasures of sin in this life and earn death as the wage, or serve God now and receive His grace through Christ as deferred, unmerited compensation for eternity (Romans 6:23).

Photo by Malik Cıl

The Mets and Bonilla both agreed to their deal because they thought it was in their best interests. The Mets saved $5.9 million in the short term to spend on another high-caliber athlete, and they hoped to collect enough interest on financial investments to pay Bonilla about $29.8 million over 25 years. As for Bonilla, he earned a lot more money overall for doing nothing and gained a golden nest egg for early retirement.

By contrast, the deal that God gave mankind looks one-sided. God has a visceral hatred for sin. A core element of the Bible narrative is Him punishing people for it. In Psalm 5:4, David described that aspect of God’s nature well: “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil can dwell with You.”

Read through the book of Proverbs and you can compile a list of all that God detests — the ways (15:9), thoughts (15:26) and sacrifices (21:27) of the wicked, injustice (17:15), and the prayers of people who don’t listen to Him (28:9). In one part of Proverbs, God revealed seven specific sins that He truly hates (6:16-19).

In that sense, sinful men are as worthless to God as Bonilla was to the Mets in 1999. But unlike the contract that obligated the Mets to pay Bonilla something, God doesn’t owe sinners anything. The contract between Him and mankind was null and void the day Adam and Eve disobeyed God (Genesis 3:1-7), and every man and woman has repeated their mistake (Romans 3:23).

The difference between God and Fred Wilpon, the owner of the Mets in 1999, is that Wilpon was thinking of himself when he made the deal with Bonilla. God was thinking of lost souls when He sacrificed His own Son (John 3:16). And Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death (Philippians 2:8) because His love for the lost runs just as deeply (I John 3:16).

Although God hates sin, He loves everyone He created in His image. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but wants them to repent and live (Ezekiel 18:23). He is patient with sinners because He doesn’t want anyone to perish (II Peter 3:9).

Love, grace, mercy and patience that lead to eternal life for the faithful — it’s a sweetheart deal inked in the blood of Jesus. We don’t deserve it; we could never earn it; and Jesus did all the work by carrying the burden of our sin to the cross.

Bobby Bonilla had enough sense to take a great deal when he saw one. Do you and I?

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