We are right in the middle of March Madness, and I saw this article from Way of Life Ministries that got me thinking. Let’s see what it says:
THE CORRUPT WORLD OF TOP-LEVEL SPORTS – Legal betting for the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) March Madness basketball tournament is expected to reach more than $3 billion (“Madness legal wagering,” Fox Business, Mar. 17, 2025). God’s born-again people are to test everything by Scripture and disassociate with evil. “Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:10-11).
There is a lot of evil throughout pro and collegiate sports. In fact, it is an idol to a great many people. In a report on a drought in west Texas that was killing the grass on football fields, the Los Angeles Times observed that this was serious because “football is God and the field is church” (“In West Texas,” Los Angeles Times, Oct 3, 2011). In 1982, the famous sports announcer Howard Cosell, while viewing the largest Sunday football game attendance in Texas history, said, “The Cowboys are more than a football team in Dallas; they are a religion.”
So the world itself says “pro sports” is an idol. What else is wrong with professional and collegiate sports from a biblical perspective? We could mention pride, boasting, envy, self-promotion, vanity, covetousness, cursing, blasphemy, drinking, drugging, gambling, fleshly rock music, sensual dancing, and indecent clothing. When evangelist Billy Sunday turned his back on a successful professional baseball career in 1893, he gave ten reasons for leaving.
Reason number two: Massive bat colony in flight INFORMATION was “Because it develops a spirit of jealousy and selfishness.” That was 130 years ago! Take the halftime shows and commercials for the Super Bowl. The 2013 halftime performance (and things have not gotten better) by Beyoncé was “pushing x-rated.” The Super Bowl commercial, voted a contender for “best,” was a Mercedes advertisement that depicted a young man contemplating selling his soul to the devil for the worldly pleasures he could expect from owning a sleek automobile. The commercial was set to the Rolling Stones’ godless song “Sympathy for the Devil.”
And what about neglect of God’s house? Not many decades past, professional sports were not played on Sundays in respect for the Lord’s Day and for the command of God that Christians not forsake the assembly (Heb. 10:24-25). Not so today. The devil has pulled out all the stops in his effort to woo the hearts of professing Christians away from Christ toward the things of this wicked world. Those who allow professional and collegiate sports to capture their hearts become desensitized to the wickedness that is inherently associated with them. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).
(https://www.wayoflife.org/pdf/fcnn-26-12.pdf
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Those of you who know me know that I call this time of year March Sadness and not March Madness. It is sad to me that believers in our Lord Jesus Christ will spend more time in a three-week period watching young men and women play with a ball than reading their Bibles, praying, encouraging other believers, or soul-winning. It is really sad how believers can be so duped. I would much rather read a good book than waste a few hours watching hoops. And that is an interesting thing for me to write because hoops used to be one of the gods in my life.
Make sure you finish up March Madness, not by having it be March Sadness but rather March Gladness because you have told some lost souls about Jesus during these days. They will be glad you did, you will be glad you did, and God will be very glad that you did!
Until the nets are full,
P.S. March Sadness came to Atlanta, so I decided to hit the streets and witness to some folks. It is exciting and sad at the same time. People know what gate they need to go through to go watch a game, but they have no clue where they are heading when they take their last breath. I was able to get out 700-800 tracts, 20 booklets, and four books. Even ran into someone who heard me speak at a Spiritual Emphasis week at his high school in Fort Myers. As we were chatting, we figured out it was 25 years ago! Wow. He is now a father, still strong in his faith, and is raising his kids to be solid believers in the Lord. God is good! Stay faithful and keep serving Him boldly!
And the night I was out there, someone was fatally shot in the vicinity of the game. We NEED to reach these people before they take their last breath.
Our tracts are still being offered at $10 off the normally suggested donation amount. That means you can pick up 600 tracts for just $38!
https://markcahill.org/product-category/specials/
P.P.S.
