I have one singular goal today – to watch the Green Bay Packers crush the New Orleans Saints. I’m so excited that football is finally back that I am in full obsession mode. I’m working in the office thinking about the game (sorry, Jesus!). I’m going to have lunch with my son at school but I’d rather be watching pre-game (sorry, boy!). I’m supposed to be going to open house for my daughter tonight but I’m dumping that on my wife (sorry, Julie!). I can truly say that I am ready for some football, Hank Williams, Jr.! I…cannot…WAIT!
Thankfully, due to a patient family and church, I can indulge myself on occasion in sports gluttony. I get to be completely consumed in my passion for my favorite teams. You don’t even want to see me on Sunday when my Ravens play that filthy team from Pittsburgh. I wouldn’t be able to type this. I’ll be sitting on the couch gobbling blood pressure pills and praying that God would choose to smite the Steelers for all their wickedness. Frankly, it’s probably not healthy, but I am passionate about my team and I can’t help but get emotionally involved.
I wish I was so consistent with the more important team that I’m a part of. I love my church. I absolutely want everyone in it to excel in their relationship with God and in the destiny that He has for them. But my church doesn’t make up the entirety of the team. The church in total, every branch, every denomination, is what the team truly encompasses. And, honestly, I don’t always cheer for that! What a contrast! The Ravens can field players that I hate and I still go insane for them. When Shannon Sharpe was in Denver, I hated the guy. When he is making catches in Baltimore on the way to the Super Bowl, I screamed his name so loud that I lost my voice. Yet I can tell you with clarity the churches around me that I don’t like and they don’t get even a rah, rah. That probably says bad things about me. It’s true none the less.
I suspect that I am not alone in criticizing the home team. Most of you reading this can run a tally of bad plays churches have made that you cannot let go. That’s especially true here in Cleveland where they name their bad sports plays. Ask anyone here about “The Fumble” and prepare to hear true anguish in their voice. Yet they still root for their Browns. Maybe you and I need to look past the fumbles we have seen in some aspects of church and begin to pull for the whole team to be better as we move into the future. I know I want to be that type of fan. So as I continue to gear up for tonight’s game (dun, dun, da, da, da, dun…Go, Pack, Go!) and quiver in anticipation for the Raven’s game on Sunday, I’m pulling back a little from my football obsession to pray for the more important team playing for big stakes come Sunday. Let’s go, Church! Let’s get em this year!
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