‘We Are All in Need of Grace’: Why Jonathan Isaac Stood for the National Anthem
By Movieguide® Contributor
NBA star Jonathan Isaac recently shared how his faith led to his decision to stand for the National Anthem despite the immense pressure he faced to kneel in 2020 after the death of George Floyd.
“I knew what I was standing for was dear to me. I knew I believed that the Gospel was going to be the answer for the world, that all of us saying that we all fall short of God’s glory, and that if we’re throwing stones at anybody else—at a different color, at a different individual—we’re throwing stones from a glass house because we’ve done wrong too. We are all in need of grace,” Isaac said in a recent video for PragerU.
Movieguide® previously reported on Isaac’s vocal stand for his faith. In his book Why I Stand, “Isaac explains that he could not find the answer to life’s many hardships when he looked to the world. ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the answer because he’s been the answer for me.’”
In this video, Isaac reflected on how God brought him to a place where he could stand for his beliefs.
Although he grew up going to church, his relationship with God changed during his time with the Orlando Magic.
“I was never at peace. I was never settled inside myself to love myself or think of myself as anything great outside of basketball. Basketball is where all my value was founded,” Isaac noted.
But a pre-game chapel service on Luke 6:46 changed his perspective.
“It says ‘Why do you call me “Lord, Lord” and not do what I say.’ That’s the verse, and I started to just reflect on myself.”
“That’s me,” Isaac concluded. “I grew up in church. I know God in some degree, but I don’t care what he says about my life or how I’m supposed to live, and I feel like that that verse was directed at me. And so I started to just say to myself you know what I’m going to find out if this thing is for real.”
“Somebody was out there orchestrating all of this and I felt a sense of peace and that somebody loved me outside of me and that was something that I was searching for for so long.”
“I was able to kind of take a step back and say, ‘God you are real. You really did show yourself to me, and I want a relationship with you.’”
“I remembered the the stories from youth group and how you have to say ‘Jesus Come into my heart and be Lord of my life,’ and so I did that on my bedside that night, and the rest was pretty much history,” he added.
The Gospel wasn’t just the answer for his life, though. Isaac knew the Gospel was the answer for a culture that believed the “only way to support black lives in that moment was to kneel for the national anthem and to wear a T-shirt.”
“I cannot think of a better antidote for the times that we see other than the Gospel,” he said. “I see racism and and all the other things that plague society as heart issues, and for me, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the thing that truly transforms hearts because it’s transformed mine.”
Although he understood the consequences, Isaac decided to stand because he knew “you cannot stand for God and God not stand for you.”
“I do not regret any of the decisions and choices that I’ve made because I knew why I was doing it,” Isaac shared. “I knew that it wasn’t necessarily just about me but about giving people courage and inspiration to stand on what they believe in as well.”
“I’ve enjoyed the man that I’ve grown to become, and to that point, a lot of it has been because of the decisions that I’ve been willing to make and to keep Jesus first in my life.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Isaac’s stand for his faith.
Like many in 2020, Isaac faced a choice. “[I was watching] what happened to George Floyd and, as tragic as it was, trying to work through what is the best way to respond or if I need to respond at all,” Isaac said. “I was almost forced to because, once we get into the bubble, there is this immense pressure on NBA players to have to kneel for the National Anthem and wear a Black Lives Matter TV shirt.”
Instead of caving to pressure, Isaac “couldn’t think of a better message than the Gospel”—what he calls the “antidote” for “all the things that plague the hearts of man.”
“I know what the answer is going to be, and the answer is not going to be kneeling. The answer isn’t going to be a movement or an organization. The answer is going to be the hearts of men being changed—both white and black, both right and left,” he added.
Because of his convictions, Isaac decided to stand, and while he faced immense backlash, he continues to stand by his decision and the Gospel.
This choice stems from Isaac’s belief that Jesus commissioned Christians to take a stand for him even under pressure. For Isaac, it is a way to live out Christ’s call to take up his cross and follow him. “It is the narrow road. It is the road less traveled it. We are going to be persecuted at the end of the day the same way Jesus was.”
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