We sure are living in some strange times these days. Here in America, we are heading into another Super Bowl weekend, and it is almost expected of us to be excited about it. But why? What is the reasoning behind people thinking that this event is something that everyone is supposed to be watching on the Sunday night of Super Bowl weekend, year after year?
Professional Sports
Maybe it would help to think about professional sports a bit. If we were to define them, how would we do that? I ask folks that question at times, and they come up with some very interesting answers. They will often say that professional sports are played by people who sign a contract or get paid for their athletic performance.
Do you want to know what professional sports really are? They are grown men playing with balls. Yes, that is it. Nothing more and nothing less. Whether it is a golf ball, basketball, football, baseball, soccer ball, or tennis ball, it is still a game that is played with balls. And to my Canadian friends, a hockey puck is just a ball that has been stepped on!!
Let’s think for a second―grown men playing with balls. Do you remember what you were doing when you were three and four years old? That is correct: You were playing with balls! But now, I am supposed to get all excited because some grown men have progressed to the point where they are still playing with balls? This really made me think.
The Fan Mentality
Seems like everyone today wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. So they become fans of something. But idol worship has become so engrained in this world that we even worship people playing with balls.
When adults see a three- or four-year-old child catch a ball or throw it correctly, what do we do? That is correct: We clap and clap and clap. We hoot and holler to encourage them for doing something so well for their age.
Uh oh. What do we fans do at sporting events? We clap and clap and clap, and then we yell and scream whenever some adult player does something correctly with the ball. Some might even clasp their hearts, hang over railings, high-five the person next to them, and generally lose control for a moment. As adults, we cheer on other adults who play with balls. We literally cannot be a serious group of people.
But what if sportsball were really some big trick? What if it were one big psychological operation to take our eyes off of the real prize? What if the psyop has worked so well that we actually don’t realize that we are idol worshipping?
Philippians 3:14
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Ezekiel 36:18
Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:
We are being trained up in a bad way. Does our idolization of college sports lead us right into this? I have spoken at churches where the parking lot was full of cars sporting the flags of their favorite college team before or after the big football game. Once, while speaking in Georgia, the parking lot was full of cars with Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Clemson flags. When I asked the church how many people had shared their faith in the previous week, you would not have been impressed with the response. Have we been so deceived that we stand up more for our colleges and college sports teams than we do for Jesus?
Psalm 106:36
And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
Priorities
One time, I was speaking in South Florida. Well, they happened to schedule me for Super Bowl Sunday. We were doing a witnessing training seminar that night between six and eight o’clock. They decided to move the training to the four to six o’clock time slot. Why? They didn’t think the attendance would be good if they held it during game time. My thought was that they should do it smack dab in the middle of the game, so we would know who was serious about witnessing and who was not.
As I was leaving the church building that night, a man named Roger and his wife were walking in. They were coming for the seminar and didn’t know that it had been rescheduled for earlier. They had driven a good distance to see the presentation. I felt so bad for them. We chatted for a while, and they seemed like wonderful people. And, you guessed it, they are still bold soul-winners for the Lord because they continue to take the things of the Lord very seriously.
1 Corinthians 10:14
Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
Another time, I spoke at a church in Texas the Sunday after the University of Texas played in the National Championship game. I asked the church, “How many of you watched a football game in the last week of your life?” It looked to me like every hand in the church went up―about 1,000 of them. I then said, “How many of you, in the last week, have talked to a lost person about Jesus, the cross, the resurrection, the blood of Christ, or handed a tract out to someone?” If my recollection is correct, three or four hands went up. Truthfully, we are not very serious people when it comes to the gospel.
Orienting Your Life
By the way, in which direction are all of the chairs in your living room pointed? That is correct. We are training ourselves to worship.
Leviticus 26:1
Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.
Did you see the video of Argentina celebrating after winning the World Cup? Five million people, they said. It’s idol worship and nothing else.
https://twitter.com/TrungTPhan/status/1605298648543547393?cxt=HHwWgsDSjbOnlccsAAAA
Who is the greater idol worshipper? The player or we the people who spend huge amounts of money, time, and energy to cheer for their team? That is a good question. And, since our tax dollars help to build the worship centers we call stadiums, we are funding this worship and may not even realize it.
Matthew 4:8-10
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
So, what should we do? Well, that is really kind of an easy question to answer.
So, what should we do? Well, that is really kind of an easy question to answer.
Acts 19:19
Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
Just some thoughts to get you thinking. Might be a good idea to hit a coffee shop, gas station, or even a laundromat next Sunday evening to do some witnessing. You’ll have much more fun than worshipping in front of your TV. We are all rushing headlong into eternity. We will be there soon enough. Many aren’t ready to die. Those who aren’t ready need Jesus. Toss your idols away, and go and tell them the great news of what Jesus has done for them!
Until the nets are full,
P.S. And, by the way, if you see someone kiss a trophy after winning some sporting event, that is one of your best giveaways that it is idol worship and nothing else.
P.P.S. And, if you decide to get a picture with or an autograph from one of your idols, remember, you are just feeding the ego of your idol. We put the oddest people on pedestals as heroes―sports stars, actors and actresses, politicians, and the like. Witness to them instead.
P.P.P.S. I got to witness to this year’s Super Bowl halftime performer at a restaurant a little over a year ago. No, I don’t have a picture of him or an autograph. I had a conversation with him and his lady. They both took books and were thankful for the encounter. And, by the way, that beautiful voice of his was once a “church voice” that is no longer serving the Lord. It serves the world and serves Islam. Please say a prayer for his soul. Thank you.