A SAINT IN SIN CITY

WE OUGHT TO OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MEN (Acts 5:29)

Saul Sallie

Chapter 1

It is not safe to assume that I am like me. That is, my public persona. Sometimes when you are a quiet introvert, people get the wrong idea about who you really are. This is especially true when you are famous. But maybe infamous might more accurately describe my current situation.

I had been maligned, and I have never seen so many false insinuations about me. And why? All because I refused to throw a baseball a certain amount of times over the course of a set time. That set time being game seven of the World Series. This happened to coincide with the Biblical Sabbath ordained by our Creator. And I am a Christian Sabbatarian. Why is this important to me?

You can find the history of creation in Genesis chapter 1 and 2:1-4. You can also find the Sabbath portion of the ten commandments in Exodus chapter 20:8-11. The best way you can find the origin of the Sunday sabbath becoming prominent is by researching Constantine, the Roman ruler who reigned from 306 to 337. When he “legalized” Christianity, the result was the merging of many pagan beliefs into the Christian doctrine.

The most significant addition, I believe, was recognizing the “venerable day of the sun” from sun worship as the sabbath. Up to this point, Christians still honored the Biblical Sabbath. The one obeyed by Jesus, the patriarchs, prophets, disciples, and apostles. Read the book of Acts, especially chapters 13-17, and you will see that the Apostle Paul and others were keeping the Sabbath, not the first day of the week, which is how the Bible usually refers to Sunday. If it was supposedly changed to honor the resurrection (no Biblical proof of this), Jesus had been resurrected many moons ago by the time the events in Acts were taking place.

All this said, God will not hold those accountable who keep Sunday in ignorance. There are millions who are unaware of the history. I was one of them. And like most, I wanted to ignore the truth. But it is the day our Creator told us to remember, not Sunday. God does not change, and His law is perfect, converting the soul. This day He blessed and sanctified recognizes Him as not only our Creator, but our Redeemer.

“He’s a legalist!” mainstream Christianity declared of me.

I guess that’s partially true. I love Jesus, He’s my Lord and Savior, and I follow His teachings with the guidance and help of the Holy Spirit. As a result, I find myself obeying the ten commandment law of God. This is a legal document written in stone by the very finger of God. But the question is motive.

When I walk in accordance with the words of Jesus, “If you love Me, keep My commandments,” am I doing it to be saved, or because I am saved? The first would be legalism. Hopefully, prayerfully, I fall into the later, out of love for my Lord and Savior. But I don’t trust my own heart, it is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it? Thankfully, God can, and He loves me more than I ever have loved Him. (See Jeremiah 17:9, 10. And John 14:15 for the words of Jesus)

The first big lie told about me was that Seven Sallie, the polarizing talk show host, was my father. That didn’t take long to get straightened out though. He’s my uncle, my dad’s youngest brother. Another major misconception is that Mason Maxwell and I don’t like each other. The truth is, he’s like a brother to me. And it is true, like brothers, we have fought by times. Unfortunately, a couple times were in front of teammates. I suppose that’s how that gossip turned into media speculation.

A couple lies were about my beautiful wife Marcella. We some times call her Marcy, but the name Marcella means strong warrior. And that’s exactly what she was, and is. Most think she’s a former porn star. Not true since you will find no illicit pictures or videos of her. This falsehood probably stems from her association with former porn star, and now Godly woman, Destiny Knight-Storm.

Another report is that my wife was a prostitute. This is only partially true. The fact is, she was a victim of human trafficking, and sold into sexual slavery as a minor. She heroically escaped with an even younger girl named Oralee during a bitter cold midwestern winter. She was ultimately rescued by my cousin Sevenia, who is Seven’s daughter, Destiny, and her husband Brock Storm. Destiny and Brock ended up adopting the two girls.

Another falsehood is that my wife was instrumental in my Christian conversion. Another partial truth. I gave my life and heart to Jesus at the age of sixteen. But, at the age of nineteen, I temporarily lived with my Uncle Seven. It was the best summer of my life. I was playing minor league baseball in the city he lived about ten miles outside of. It was during this time that I met Marcella and fell deeply in love.

Like I said, she had been adopted by Destiny and Brock. Brock and my Uncle Seven are cousins, and pretty close friends. Brock would also be my dad’s cousin, so that would make him, my cousin once removed. Anyway, I had never met this cousin once removed, but was well aware of his legend as a bodyguard and rescuer.

The very day I took up temporary residence with my Uncle Seven, I met my first cousin once removed. His day job when he wasn’t saving people, was modifying vehicles, and reselling them. That is where I met him for the first time, in his shop.

I am six foot three and quite muscular. But in the presence of Brock Strom, I felt like a child. He was built like a pro wrestler, and I sensed he could easily pick me up and throw me across the room. But his smile was warm and friendly as we shook hands.

I was surprised at how much he looked like my Uncle Seven. Not only more so than my dad, but Seven’s own twin brother, Uncle Six. Six and Seven were my uncles’ actual middle names, and they had gone by them for so long, I wasn’t even sure what their first names were. My dad wasn’t overly close to his  extended family.

I thought the three of us were alone as we stood next to a 1968 Mustang that was on jack stands. Then Brock spoke to someone. “Hey Marcella, can you come out from under there. I want you to meet someone.”

The wheels of a mechanic’s crawler scratched on the concrete floor. A pair of gray and blue stripped coveralls appeared from underneath the Mustang. The head that emerged from the coveralls was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. Even with grease smudged on her face, safety glasses covering her almond shaped eyes, and a blonde ponytail coming out of a baseball cap, she was lovely.

She was surprisingly shy when Brock introduced her as his eighteen year old daughter. I myself have always been tongue tied around girls I found attractive. But there was an element that made me quite relaxed and comfortable. She was some type of cousin, and even if it was in the acceptable distance for blood kin, there was no way I was going to have it being said that my special lady was my cousin.

You see, in the beginning, I didn’t know she was adopted. When I met Destiny, Brock’s wife and Marcella’s mother, they looked enough alike, I only became more ensconced in my belief that we were kinfolk. Destiny had come into the shop from doing yardwork. And like her daughter, she looked stunning despite a shabby wardrobe. She wore an old flannel shirt and baseball cap, but it couldn’t hide her loveliness. Not that she was trying.

Seven told the small group that I was a pro baseball player, and would be staying with him until I got moved, hopefully up to double A and not back down to low A. Destiny had the five us go into the house for refreshments. I asked Marcella about herself, and she gave me vague, self-evasive answers. But then I got out of her that she loved to ride mountain bikes. This was a passion of mine as well. I told her as much.

“Do you want to go ride?” she asked enthusiastically. “We’ve got some great trails only a half mile from here.”

“Oh, I’d love to, but I don’t have a bike with me right now,” I replied.

“You can use mine,” Brock offered.

“Okay, I’d love to,” I grinned.

And that’s how it started with Marcella and me. Just as friends. We thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company, and began spending time with each other whenever we could. She came to my home ball games when I pitched, and we called and texted when I was on the road. There was also an undeniable chemistry between us. I wondered if I should reconsider the cousin thing, and check into the appropriate distance with distant relatives. But then a conversation with Destiny changed everything.