football as religion
As I have been preparing for the sermon series Old School: The Prophets of the Old Testament, I continuously run into the issue of idolatry. It’s hard for me to understand the attraction to hedging my safety and my spiritual life by worshiping multiple gods, some of which were made by human hands. I would never place hand carved wooden idols on my mantle piece and literally bow down to worship them daily. I would never take an infant and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on an alter. But the more I’ve studied and meditated on the stories of the prophets and the Israeli people, the more I realize that I too have idols.
Here are some of the ones I struggle with:
- Safety – for myself and my family. I don’t want to be put into a dangerous situation and I certainly don’t want my family in a dangerous situation. I choose safe things all the time. And the more I have been aware of my idol “safety” the more I realize it dominates a great portion of my life.
- Comfort – this one is closely related to the first. I want to live as comfortable as possible. I want a comfortable house, a comfortable mattress, a comfortable pair of jeans, and I want my job, family & church life to be comfortable and not challenging.
- Materialism – I love stuff. The more stuff I have the “safer” and more “comfortable” I feel. I love buying new stuff. There is an addictive feeling of exhilaration when I get something new. But the more I get the more I want. The more I have, the more I want.
- Selfishness – Too often, I make decisions on what I think is best for me. I think that the world and that my time should be shaped by those things that benefit me or that give me pleasure. I want to spend my time, money and my effort on myself. When I do I close the door for God using me, my time and my money for His glory and/or to serve someone in need.
- Football – This time of year millions of people gather every Saturday and Sunday to worship football (and I’m one of them). They give it much of their time, their money and their effort. Americans will spend more money on all things connected to American Football than we will on helping the least of these in our own country and around the world. We will quickly spend a couple of hundred of dollars on Tickets to a game, but we will not give any money to build a well in Africa or to support MexicoAid as they provide for poor children in drug war torn parts of Central America.
This list is just a start to the many idols I bow down to on a regular basis. And that’s sad. I have to work hard every day to overcome the consumerist selfish behavior that have shaped my life. I have to be intentional to divert my attention away from selfishness and put my attention and efforts on serving others.
So, yeah, I have idols that are just as silly, ridiculous and dangerous as the idols of the Israelites. And I am trying everyday to quit my own version of idolatry. I’m trying to be a single minded, radical disciple. I don’t want football to be the main religion I observe over the next few months.
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