I read the name Nick Foles for the first time two or three days ago in an article headline on Drudge about the Philadelphia quarterback possibly becoming a pastor of some sort after football this year. I presume that his name is pronounced as it is spelled....but then again....maybe not. I woke up this morning and booted up the computer and the Drudge Report and read that the Eagles won the Super Bowl....an upset I take it. I saw one quote by this young man....who I'm sure is a wonderful person...."All Glory To God."
So let me break this down a little.....a football team.....won the big game.....on the Lord's Day.....with most of America tuned in....as the nation.....delirious, delusional and in harm's way.....wades through an alligator and snake infested swamp.....trying desperately to reach dry ground....because of our rebellion to God.....and yet all the glory of the football victory is to be given to Him? Strange. More than strange, for we need to at least examine some things today that we automatically assume are edifying and Scriptural.
In my favorite Peanuts comic of all time Linus runs up to Charlie Brown after watching a football game on television, and goes on and on describing the jubilation of the winning team...."People were jumping up and down and when they kicked the extra point, thousands of people ran out onto the field laughing and screaming! The fans and the players were so happy they were rolling on the ground and hugging each other and dancing and everything! It was Fantastic!" I looked at Linus....er I mean Charlie Brown looked at Linus and asked...."How did the other team feel?"
So once again....all the glory of the professional football team winning the big game on the Lord's Day....along the way taking Christian's hearts and minds all across America.....away from Christ.....and onto a football team.....all the glory here goes to God? Hmm? There's something wrong with this picture folks.
Athletics is a wonderful thing; and to the Christian there are lessons in winning and in losing, and the joy in an athletic achievement is a blessing, as is simply doing your best but coming up short. The problem, as in other endeavors of life, is in making an idol out of goals.....athletic or otherwise. This young man Nick Foles.....and other Christian athletes such as Tim Tebow.....have kept their eyes fixed on Christ....but we should at least admit that there is no gospel in a finger pointed to heaven or a short testimony on how God made someone an MVP.....and that these gestures do not necessarily justify all of the sports and games that we have in our culture.
Similar quotes like this one from the Super Bowl quarterback....and there have been many of them over the years....may indeed encourage young Christians.....and lead to other positive things. One question that we might ask is....which outcome might outweigh the other.....the positives of encouraging young sports fans who believe in God....or the negatives in encouraging them to ignore the Lord's Day?
Note: The debate over the Lord's Day is centuries old and ongoing even today. All you can do in a situation like this is follow your conscience. So if it be your opinion that professional football is a perfectly legitimate Christian endeavor or pastime....express it! For my part....I hope that in this antinomian climate that I'm still allowed to express mine. Really, the biggest mistake that we can make is to not prayerfully look for the answer in Scripture ourselves.....but rather to just pick the available teacher's opinion that matches our own preference.
Similar quotes like this one from the Super Bowl quarterback....and there have been many of them over the years....may indeed encourage young Christians.....and lead to other positive things. One question that we might ask is....which outcome might outweigh the other.....the positives of encouraging young sports fans who believe in God....or the negatives in encouraging them to ignore the Lord's Day?
Note: The debate over the Lord's Day is centuries old and ongoing even today. All you can do in a situation like this is follow your conscience. So if it be your opinion that professional football is a perfectly legitimate Christian endeavor or pastime....express it! For my part....I hope that in this antinomian climate that I'm still allowed to express mine. Really, the biggest mistake that we can make is to not prayerfully look for the answer in Scripture ourselves.....but rather to just pick the available teacher's opinion that matches our own preference.
