I've been amazed at the frenzy over the New Orleans Saints going to the Superbowl. Don't get me wrong, I'm pleased they won. The team worked hard and their efforts have paid off. And, after all, they are the home team. But come on. How is it that people are so intoxicated by watching grown men play a game? What lasting benefit is it in the lives of men? The reality is the NFL is a business; a very lucrative business; a multi-billion dollar business. The Saints are a business. How is it that so many people are so excited because a business has done well? You don't see parades when GM or Ford or Toyota has a banner year.
The truth is sports have become a terrible idol. The definition of a idol is anything that garners greater affection than God. It would seem that most of our city was glued to the television last night giving homage to their idol. The game was played on the Lord's Day but little attention was given to God. I heard that the line Sunday evening at Academy Sports stretched several hundred deep as people rushed to get the championship teeshirts. How many professing Christians skipped worship last night in order to watch the game? Sadly, numerous churches bowed to the idol of the Superbowl. Some churches, in an effort to appear religious, held an abbreviated service and then rushed off to Fellowship Hall to watch the game. It would have been more honest to dispense with the worship service altogether so that it wouldn't be a distraction from their true god.
If my condemnation sounds harsh it should. How much better would it be for every Christian to speak out against profaning the Lord's Day? How much better would it be if every Christian demonstrated that his affections rested upon Jesus alone? Idolatry comes in many forms. May God grant us to flee from each and every one.
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