One may question the sanity (or loyalty) of a football fan writing a blog during what what may be the biggest football match up of a generation.Yet here I am in front of a computer, in different part of the house from my family, with my ear buds in. And I'm writing what I sense may be my most candid blog.
One thing I want to make clear before I share my heart, is that I am not anti-football or some super-spiritual saint. In fact I am exactly the opposite, an avid football fan that struggles to keeping things in the correct perspective. So, what follows is not a "football is evil" diatribe, but rather an expression of the grace and mercy I've received from Christ and an explanation of the reality that I must work out that grace and mercy by not watching a game that would trash it all.
The best place for me to start is in Mt 4. Jesus' first temptation, after fasting 40 days, is to turn stones into bread. Nothing wrong with bread, no rules against creators doing whatever they want with what they've made. So, why is this an issue? Because Satan was made the bread making, bread craving reality a test of Christ's divinity. If you are the Son of God. Just like in the Garden. Did God really say? And Jesus' response? In the ultimate temptation blocking parry, Christ emphatically, scripturally states that bread is not the issue, dependence on God is the issue. So whether we trust God for physical food or spiritual, in the end, we must trust Him, and not our own abilities.
The question, of course, is how does this tie to football? In my personal world a football game where one team is a "favorite" is my bread. Did God really say no football? Won't a little cheering show team and family spirit? Are you some kind of legalist? I could go on, but I think you see the pattern. The draw and the power and the sheer emotionalism of watching the game takes me from honoring Christ to honoring my self and leaves me, in the end, wondering what kind of witness I have been.
As I stand back, I think of passages like Isa 45:20 "They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save." Football, like anything, can become an idol. For me, when certain teams play it is just that. So, in order to honor Christ, and not the idol, I must stay away and do something that keeps my heart and mind on the One who lived and died for me and paid the price for the always near idolatry in my heart.
To God Alone be the Glory
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