A cursory glance at the NFL playoff picture was all that was needed. Tomorrow....two of the four final teams will meet at 3 PM....and the other two at 6:30 PM. What percentage of evangelical households will have these playoff games on the television from say....2 PM to the end of the evening? The church lost this battle a long time ago....as even stalwarts of the faith had no stomach for this war.
To witness what is happening today....and to understand it....as a nation drowning in idolatry....when the vast majority of us are blinded....is difficult to deal with. It is a powerful and negative element of the human condition....so intelligent and ingenious in so many ways....yet greatly lacking in one area....wisdom. Six thousand years of history to take into consideration....and God's Word before us....to glean something on how nations get fat and fall....but we remain....as did all the other nations.....oblivious to it.
I'll make a prediction for those games tomorrow....and I have impressive credentials for making such a prediction....as I lived sports for quite a number of years earlier in my life....complete with celebrations in downtown Pittsburgh after Super Bowl wins....and I don't think that there is anything sweeter….in this vein….than ticking off the final seconds of a Stanley Cup trophy. Here it is.....two teams will win tomorrow....and two teams will lose...and....there is a high probability that at least one player on a winning team will make news by giving all the credit to God.
When I give my personal testimony....which is relatively rare....I usually give the time period as early 1982 for my conversion....and that may indeed be the case....but I was never in the position....other than mere assent....of feeling the dreadness that I a sinner was in the presence of a holy God....and should by rights be done away with had not that Holy God for some mystifying reason had mercy on the least of the least....until as recently as maybe a decade ago....never coming close to understanding the words of Hebrews 10:31...."It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God"....nor felt anywhere near the regal impact of David's words of exaltation in his Psalms.
Why aren't pastors today warning of the potential idolatry of sport....and the need for moderation? How many followers of 'the Way' do you think may have been in the seats of the ancient Roman Circus? How many architects of the Westminster Confession in your possession do you think were gaming of any sort on the Lord's Day? What would Spurgeon say....or Jonathan Edwards....or George Whitefield....as to what the American Sunday has become?
We cannot "rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory"....(1 Peter 1:8)....nor adequately discern the times and the seasons....with delusions abounding....while at the same time exceeding moderation in time and emotion in worldly ventures of any kind. When this is all over....and one 'winner' remains standing....in this one sport alone....a season of life will have been wasted....opportunities missed....atrophy of mind and lethargy of spirit extended....as we see what is happening around us and wonder in amazement how it all came about?
