NCAA’s March Madness reminds me how much I love sports.
At times I may have loved sports too much. For Christians, God is to be the main focus in life. We can enjoy other things, but when we make anything more important that God, it becomes an idol. I doubt I would have said sports were more important to me than God, but they were. You may not be a sports nut like I am, but we are all tempted to make something good in our life a bit more important than it should be.
A friend of ours who is a huge Purdue fan said he gained some perspective years ago when he took his family to a Boilermaker football game. He was visibly upset after Purdue suffered another painfully disappointing loss, but his young son’s only concern was whether they could still go out and enjoy some pizza afterward. My friend wisely let the loss go and enjoyed time with his family.
Most idols are good things, they are just taken too far. We can make food, work, entertainment, politics, technology, and people like celebrities or even our family idols when they become more important than God.
Sports are great. Participating in them is generally good for our bodies. But even too much athletic activity can end up injuring us! Sports can be a great source of entertainment, but when people gamble more money on a game than is good for them to lose, they have made sports too important. When people are miserable for days or even longer because a team loses, it could be a sign sports have become too important. I love sports, but when I see people threatening athletes, coaches, and referees over a game, I can’t help but believe we have taken being a fan too far. People have been killed over the outcome of a game, even over a call someone didn’t like. When grown adults boo a teenage athlete who is better than they ever were at sports, I wonder if we haven’t gotten our priorities mixed up. I find it interesting how easy it is to take losses personally, or think we are a better person because our team won. I know that’s easy for me to do. It is not for me to say where the line is, but when people take out their misery on others or put down others, even online, I would suggest sports have become too important.
A friend of ours who is a huge Purdue fan said he gained some perspective years ago when he took his family to a Boilermaker football game. He was visibly upset after Purdue suffered another painfully disappointing loss, but his young son’s only concern was whether they could still go out and enjoy some pizza afterward. My friend wisely let the loss go and enjoyed time with his family.
Most idols are good things, they are just taken too far. We can make food, work, entertainment, politics, technology, and people like celebrities or even our family idols when they become more important than God.
Sports are great. Participating in them is generally good for our bodies. But even too much athletic activity can end up injuring us! Sports can be a great source of entertainment, but when people gamble more money on a game than is good for them to lose, they have made sports too important. When people are miserable for days or even longer because a team loses, it could be a sign sports have become too important. I love sports, but when I see people threatening athletes, coaches, and referees over a game, I can’t help but believe we have taken being a fan too far. People have been killed over the outcome of a game, even over a call someone didn’t like. When grown adults boo a teenage athlete who is better than they ever were at sports, I wonder if we haven’t gotten our priorities mixed up. I find it interesting how easy it is to take losses personally, or think we are a better person because our team won. I know that’s easy for me to do. It is not for me to say where the line is, but when people take out their misery on others or put down others, even online, I would suggest sports have become too important.
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Does this mean I won’t watch the Purdue Boilermakers in the NCAA tournament when they play today? I will watch them every moment in the tournament I can! And I will root them on all the way. When they lose, as is likely, my goal is to not let it ruin my day. If by some miracle they win it all, I also want to keep it in perspective. The truth is it really won’t change my life much. My goal is just to continue to enjoy watching the tournament and appreciate some of the best sports have to offer.
One more picture for my mother-in-law. Boiler up, Carolyn!
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