I have a confession--last night I stayed up ridiculously late to watch the Texas Rangers blow the sixth game of the World Series against St Louis. The outcome of that game will not directly affect my life in any shape or fashion--but none the less I sat with pounding heart trying to see the Rangers win their first world series. Why?
Why would I use four-and-a-half hours watching a baseball game?
I remember years ago being confronted about my--and our culture's--obsession with sports. It was when my oldest son was a senior in high school and being recruited as a place kicker for college football. After visits to a few universities with serious football programs I was beginning to wonder about the priorities of my culture. My son was getting more attention and college offers than one of his best friends who was the valedictorian of the class. No local papers ran photos and wrote articles about the academic accomplishments of Joey, the valedictorian. But we have a collection of articles with photos and stats of our son.
One morning in my prayer time I believe God gave me an insight. Here it is for your consideration--in a complex society people search for something concrete. Sports becomes the escape from the complexity of our society. In sports everyone knows who wins and who looses. Our enjoyment of sports is based upon our understanding of the rules and objectives. (This is why I struggle with enjoying hockey--I don't understand icing!)
Perhaps this is also why so many churches are stagnant or declining--we have lost clear sight of our objective. Jesus was pretty clear with His purpose--"to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10).
Perhaps we can become excited again about life and church when we break it down to the simple "seeking and saving the lost."
And yes, I will be watching game seven tonight--although it will be tape delayed because I get to have my grandkids spend the night. So my game will start about 9:00. Grandkids trump everything--even sports!
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