Jason's Blog

“The Christians that I know have to be among the unhappiest of people in the world!”

Think about the prune-faced, Puritan stereotype– severe, unloving, killjoys.  And if you call to mind a Fundamentalist of the twentieth century, the picture is a preacher pounding a pulpit, dripping with sweat, shouting out fierce words to the faithful.  Or worse — someone using a megaphone on a street corner.

How did we become so serious? Does this hardened spirit reflect Jesus? I think not.

Whatever else we might say about Jesus, he is completely at peace and full of joy. Jesus our risen Lord is not sullen or bitter about life. John Piper’s explains this idea beautifully in Desiring God (Multnomah, 2nd Edition, 1996):

Can you imagine what it would be like if the God who ruled the world were not happy? What if God were given to grumbling and pouting and depression like some Jack-and-the-beanstalk giant in the sky? What if God were frustrated and despondent and gloomy and dismal and discontented and dejected? Could we with David say, “Oh God, thou art my God, I seek thee; my soul thirsts for thee; my flesh faints for thee, as in a dry and weary land where no water is” (Psalm 63:1)?

I don’t think so. We would all relate to God like little children who have a frustrated, gloomy, dismal, and discontented father. They can’t enjoy him. They can only try not to bother him, and maybe try to work for him to earn some little favor (John Piper, 34).

Years ago when I was studying the gospels, I noticed that Jesus majored in defying the stereotypes of the religious establishment.  Instead of settling for quiet dinner conversation with spiritual leaders, Jesus parties with people like Levi.  Instead of fasting, he took up feasting.

I think that if Jesus came in the flesh to dwell among us today, he would continue the same practice.  His laughter would surprise, his attendance at parties would shock; his closest friends and greatest followers would be drawn from the edges of society.

WWJD?  (What Would Jesus Do?) Whatever he did, it would be filled with the joy of the Lord.  And if his track record is any indication of his choices, Jesus would be sociable and in the middle of a party.

So as you celebrate and spend time others this weekend (be it at a party or not), remember the one who was not too serious.  Remember Jesus.

Since the Super Bowl is this week (as well as national signing day), I thought it might be good to reflect a little on football as religion.  Is it just a game or is it more? Since I live in the shadow of Kyle Field, the economics of college ball are easy to see.  It is extraordinary how much money is tied up in athletics.  But its more than just that.

Mark Galli, senior managing editor at Christianity today, wrote a piece over at Books & Culture that really hits on the impact of sports on the daily lives of Christians:

Christians have embraced sports with no little enthusiasm. Christian parents enroll their children—boys and girls alike now—in youth leagues and enthusiastically follow them in traveling teams, even if that takes them away on weekends, and thus from Sunday morning worship in their home church. Churches have sports ministries and banquets featuring Christian superstars who wax eloquent about how God helped them who helped themselves (with discipline, teamwork, and so forth). And, in large parts of the country, high school sports is seamlessly woven into religious life.

I think about how close hits home to me.

• Upwards Soccer is around the corner (we skipped the basketball season).
• TAMU Women’s & Men’s Basketball games are held on Sundays (at noon) or Wednesday evenings.
• In the Fall, we love the home football game weekends and the attendance patterns that it brings– especially when we’re winning.
• Many, many of our church leaders are season ticket holders– some in multiple sports.

And then there’s the runners.  Houston, Austin, and San Antonio all have runs (1/2 and full marathons). The Armadillo Dash is around the corner.  One of our Christian Schools has a Fun Run.  Many think nothing of training on Sunday mornings.  They might even believe that they are closer to God in their Nikes than in a pew.

Parenting (as Galli’s quote above suggests) is now shaped athletics.  We have the  city leagues, private leagues, traveling teams, and strength and conditioning camps in the Summer.

Is this all aerobics and entertainment?  When would football (or any other sport) become a religion or idolatry?  Would we even know when we crossed that line?

When does following of sports teams (and I do have my favorites) begin to affect how I talk and my overall mood?

A number of books are on the market that discuss football (and other sports) as America’s new religion.  A number of these  draw on a definition of religion from Clifford Geertz- a cultural anthropologist.  To quote from the Galli article again:

[Geertz suggests that] religion acts to “establish powerful, persuasive, and long lasting moods and motivations” by “formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing those conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the morals and motivations seems uniquely realistic.”

I am not sure that this definition for religion is sufficient? In reality, religion and spirituality are about connecting with the divine.

However more importantly, perhaps you need to look at what sports is doing to you.  Does it create a sense of order in your life?  Is it shaping your morals, motivations, and mood?

If sports has this kind of play in your life, if it is affecting how you make choices, and your attitude — whether you think it is a religion or not isn’t the real concern.  I would say that your sport is too important.  Cut back.  Live without it.  Let it go.

I can’t tell you how important it is to cultivate your spiritual side.  God is not far away from us, but you will need to seek him.  If athletics, or games, or tickets, or winning seasons are more important to you than seeking the person of God, you have a problem.

Ultimately, sports and exercise cannot give you the resources for deepening your life for the long haul.  The apostle Paul put it well “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).

I hope you can enjoy the games (and recruiting) and everything that goes with them, but pursue godliness