Counterfeit Gods: Sports

by Michael Maybee

I am not a sports fan. The topic just doesn’t hold my interest like it does the majority of men. My wife is more of a sports fan than I am, though she definitely does not idolize any sport, team, or player. So, for me, the idea of sports as an idol, a counterfeit god, is not a problem. That’s not to say I don’t have my own counterfeit gods, sports is just not one of them.

A healthy interest in or enthusiasm for sports is not a problem. Attending a game or watching a televised event is one way for small or large groups of people to strengthen relationships. There is a great line in the movie “City Slickers.” When a woman in the movie questions the common male fascination with sports, one man reveals how he and his father reached a point where they had difficulty communicating and connecting. He goes on to say, “When we couldn’t talk about anything else, at least we could talk about baseball.” Sports can be a great relationship builder. But it is possible to take being a sports fan too far.

A fan can become a fanatic. Then sports becomes a barrier to relationships or even destructive. I am thinking of the person who is so enamored with sports that they refuse to miss a home game for any reason. I think of the person whose family feels totally abandoned during the active season of their favorite sport. I think of the person who spends so much money on attending events and perhaps gambling thereon that their spouse feels financially insecure. When sports or anything else, takes priority over relationships, it has become an idol, a counterfeit god.

God is not some cosmic killjoy who doesn’t want us to have fun and enjoy things like sports. He is however all about relationships. Our most important relationship is with Him, and our relationships with other people should be a close second. Jesus, God in human form, makes that pretty clear when He says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-39) Can there be any doubt that we should let nothing be more important to us than our relationships, first with God and then with others?

For you, as for me, perhaps a fascination with sports is not that thing that is more important to you than relationships. If you are an enthusiastic sports fan, are you using that interest to help build relationships, or are you allowing it to interfere in your most important relationships? If it is not sports, what if anything are you letting interfere with relationships?

“Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays.”

~Andrew Murray

(You are encouraged to use the SOAP – Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer Method for a guide. Click here to read more about developing your devotional life. Click here for an example SOAP journal entry. If you don’t own a Bible, pick up "The Story of God" Bible available for free at the WelcomeCenter in our atrium.)

Week’s Overview:In Sunday’s sermon, Dan made this observation: “The Bible uses sports as a metaphor for kingdom truths, and we use God as metaphor for sports success.”So this week, we’re going to dig down into those metaphors from the Scriptures to see what God would want from us.

monday, 8.6

Read: 1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7

Personal: We call the good fight a ‘Beautiful Fight.’ What does God have you redemptively fighting for right now? (e.g. your marriage, your child, your health, for faith, etc). Pray that God would give you strength (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).

Action: is God nudging you to get baptized? Click here to take your next step!

tuesday, 8.7

Read: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 1 Timothy 4:8

Personal: the Bible calls for ‘self-discipline’ in the effort to win others to Jesus – like an Olympic runner who trains for the race of her life. That is a powerful example of focus and passion for God’s redemptive mission! How passionate are you about the lost and weak experiencing the good news of Jesus in their lives? Would you run a marathon on their behalf to see it happen?

wednesday, 8.8

Read:1 Corinthians 4:9, 1 Corinthians 15:32

Study: You can never accuse Paul of not using manly metaphors, huh. This is serious gladiator stuff! But again, this is not hollow bravado or some Hollywood make believe…Paul is referencing a real and deadly ‘sport’ to compare his fervor and passion for Jesus – His resurrection and the self-denying life of a follower!

Personal: spend time praying for one person in your life that you’d ‘go into the arena’ for.

thursday, 8.9

Read: Philippians 3:14, 2 Timothy 2:5, 2 Timothy 4:8

Personal: in view of our counterfeit gods conversation, what is your greatest prize?

Friday - Sunday, 8.10 – 8.12

Read:1 Corinthians 10:31

Personal:

  • Study the attached ‘covenant triangle that Dan taught on 2 weeks ago (if you missed it, click here), how can you literally do this in your life without it being a performance-based endeavor?
  • Pray that God will continue to free you from the counter-clockwise way of living. That you might, by the grace of God in Christ, learn to serve God in a clockwise manner – trusting that you are a son or daughter of God, whom he loves, in whom He is well-pleased (Mark 1:11).

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grow (resources to help you in your study)

  • Sunday’s Sermon: Click here for podcast, or video
  • book:Counterfeit Godsby Tim Keller
  • article: Whatever Happened to Play– great article on Sports in Christianity Today
  • article:Baseball has its Worshippers and, at N.Y.U., you get credit – interesting article in the New York Times
  • article:Face It!NFL is Life – by KC Star columnist Sam Mellinger
  • article:At Penn State, sport itself was a co-conspirator by KC Star columnist Sam Mellinger
  • movie: Chariots of Fire
  • movie: Remembering the Titans
  • movie: The Blind Side
  • click here for more resources – this will link you back to the journey’s main page.
  • connect: click here to go to Heartland’s Facebook page
  • mobile connections: download the free Heartland app for your iPhone or Android device and access our resources virtually anywhere

go (action steps)

  • prayer? Please send us an email by clicking here
  • care? Do you need to talk with someone? Please call us at 913.341.5820 ext. 330
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  • grow—Join a small group, a 1:1 spiritual mentorship, or find about the many other ways to grow

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