+JMJ+
Come holy spirit...
Well the 2011 Superbowl has come and gone, and the NFL season (sadly) has ended. On the plus side, the first words out of the mouth of the first member of the World Champion Green Bay Packers that was interviewed were: "To God be the glory!" Amen to that!
Now, we are onto baseball and NASCAR, among other warm weather sports.
During the course of the NFL season, there was no shortage of over the top displays of "fan-dom" People wore face paint in the colors of their team, they wore their teams clothing, they waved towels, they tailgated, they decorated their vehicles with their team's colors and logos, etc. You sometimes see this in other sports, too, but not quite like you would in football. Maybe in Detroit during hockey season. Often, you will also find a person's love for their sports team at their home. Maybe on their walls or with a flag in their yard.
There's even a now-famous commercial for the "Never Miss A Superbowl Club." Four men who literally had never missed a Superbowl since it started 45 years ago. (Sadly, and ironically, one of the gentleman was a Packers fan, and he suddenly got very sick and had to make this the first Superbowl he ever missed, the one the Packers won. My prayers are with him and his heath.) Some of these men bragged that they had missed out on weddings and babies being born to attend every Superbowl.
There was another ad with the actor saying that the only reason for Sundays was for football. (Yes, I cringed, as well.)
In one of my earlier blog posts, I discussed how we are to love the Lord above all else. That is one of the two "Greatest Commandments."
How many of us sports fans can say we love the Lord more than our sports teams? Would we wear His "uniform" or clothing? For example, a cross or crucifix, or a shirt that says WWJD? Would we display our faith on our vehicles? Would we adorn our walls with crosses or crucifixes? What about pictures of Jesus? Would we fly a Christian flag? How about a Christian statue in our garden or near our house? Or a Nativity scene in our yard during Advent and Christmas? (If every Christian who complained about Nativities not being on public property placed one on their own private property, our cities would be overrun with Nativity scenes!)
For those of us who do do some or all of these things, are they to the same level us our sport team paraphernalia?
Based just on my general observations, the answer seems to be "No." I see people happily expressing their support of their favorite teams all over the place, but by comparison, I do not see very many religious displays indicating that we are fans of the Lord.
Why is that, do you think?
Are we embarrassed by our faith? Are we embarrassed by our Lord? If so, He will be embarrassed by us when we meet him in Heaven. (Matthew 10:33)
Are we afraid we'd be called fanatics? Well, the base word for fanatic is fan. Some might say religious fanatics are the ones who resort to violence and disorder, but being a sports fan is harmless, right? I can tell you, anyone who thinks that has never been to an Oakland Raiders game! What about sports fans who riot after their team wins the championship? It isn't just people of faith who can take their love too far! It's obviously up to us to know where to draw the line.
But, needless to say, we should never be afraid to display our love for the Lord. We should be His biggest fans! The Lord should be the one who receives the adoration that is more frequently reserved for sports teams. There is nothing wrong with being a sports fan, sporting events were a part of society back in Jesus' time, and the apostles often make reference to them in the Gospels.
But, the Lord should be the one glorified above and beyond everything else in our lives. Worshiping Him is the #1 reason for Sunday, everything else comes 2nd. Worshiping Him and pleasing Him is our #1 priority any day of the week, really.
So, if you look around, and you see more sports paraphernalia than religious paraphernalia, you may want to examine your conscience, your priorities, and ask yourself why. Then apologize to the Lord if your outward adoration of a sports team was beyond what it has been for Him and endeavor to do better from this point forward. Yes, you can worship and adore the Lord privately, but you can do the same for a sports team, so that is no excuse either.
Our walk of faith requires a constant reexamination of our priorities and conscience and we always have to make choices. Go ahead and be proud of your favorite sports teams, just make sure your pride for the Lord is even greater, and don't be afraid to show it!
Godspeed!
A very good point here!!! Why are there not people out there that are supporting the lord as much as possible, keeping the Holy Day holy, and not just for football? Why arent there people out there that would not miss Sunday service for birthdays or births of children?
ReplyDeleteBeing a follower of Christ, means that you wear Christ on your chest like a badge of honor, no matter what! However, I do find I have issues with some of this. I respect a man that does not deny Christ and is proud to be a follower. Why don't people do so? are they ashamed? Are they worried they will be made fun of? or do they think they will be a minority?
Crosses on the wall, pictures of Jesus, etc... those are all good, but I know a lot of non-Christians who have the same things on their walls! While wearing a Christian memento or t-shirt or something is good, it's more important to show God's love to the world by the way we act, live, give, spend our time, show love, etc.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, people often put too much importance on having religious paraphanelia around them, when what matters most is their Christian walk.
I may not have a lot of Christian art or religious paraphaneila decorating my home or office, but I can show Jesus to others by the way I live.
Heather,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great point, it is in our action. Sometimes it bothers me to see that people with the shirts that say Jesus in the resees emblum, or "Jesus is My homeboy" shirts. To me it is more of a capitalistic society making money off of Christianity, when have of the producers aren't even Christian or support Christian Ideals.
Heather,
ReplyDeleteWhy would a non-Christian have religious iconography or displays? Like you said, it is up to the person to actually live like they witness. One of the benefits of Christian imagery is to remind us to focus on the Lord, it is a visual reminder to us, which most of us need, to keep Jesus at the forefront of our thoughts.
My larger point, though, was that people are quicker to adorn their house with sports items than religious items, and that's the opposite of how it should be. And I am hoping people who do that will re-examine their conscience and their decision making.
Anonymous,
I have seen, and even own, some t-shirts that replace Jesus with a well known corporate logo. The corporations are not the owners of the shirts, they are usually Christian t-shirt manufacturers. In a way it is their way of placing Jesus where He belongs, AHEAD of a materialistic society, by replacing material items with His image or name. It gives people something to think about. :)
Thank you, both, for the feedback!
Eric
Good topic, Eric!
ReplyDeleteI see non-Christians sporting religious paraphanelia, etc all of the time. How many people have you seen with a cross necklace or a crucifix tattoo, or perhaps even a Bible verse? I do know a lot of Christians who do those things for a good reason, a helpful constant reminder to themselves, but there are still many non-Christians who do not.
One of the best ways a Christian can remind themselves the right way to walk is to use reminders. You are right... some people do like to look at things in order to remind them. I have a couple of my favorite verses taped to my computer monitors in my office.
I don't necessarily think that having a collection of non-Christian decor is a bad thing. I don't have sports decor, but I do have a lot of Asian artwork and mementos decorating my house. Now I don't worship them... but I do enjoy looking at them. I'm sure there are a lot of wacko sports nuts who worship their favorite team. But, there are probably some that just like to look at their favorite team colors.
I think the most important thing is to have something that reminds us to walk uprightly and live a life that Jesus approves of, whether it be through visual cues or some other way. I personally try to listen to christian music all of the time. It's hard to have a bad attitude or stay mad at someone with the sweet sounds of Jesus' love for us playing in the background. The same goes for TV... there definitely isn't much Christian programming compared to secular shows, but it's helpful to watch what we put in our heads. My grandma says "garbage in, garbage out." Grandmas knows best! =)