I know, I know...and I agree with you. Our self-obsessed culture has taken it too far. Our love of sports in this country is an unhealthy and even an idolatrous thing. You are unquestionably right. But I don't want to talk about that aspect right now. Today, I'd rather write about the benefits of sports, football in particular. And there are real benefits. Other sports are fun and beneficial, but to me, there is nothing like football.
Football is like playing chess, but with consequences. In football, every decision is a business decision as there are real, physical consequences for every action taken. There are different schools of thought and philosophies employed in order to be successful in football, such as the smashmouth approach (run it straight ahead and see who backs down first), or the run-and-shoot approach (spread out the defense and create space and mismatches), or any combination in between. Fearlessness, toughness, discipline, teamwork, commitment, perseverance, selflessness, creativity, humility and other beneficial things are lessons learned through the game of football.
Football isn't for everyone, you must have the proper mentality for it. But moms and dads, if your son wants to play, I mean really wants to play and you are in a position to accommodate him, give him a shot at it. Let him experience the struggle for himself. His hunger to take on a difficult challenge is a good thing. A necessary thing. Don't tamp down or demean his desire to be tested. Furthermore, the opportunity that he will have to learn the above lessons is reason enough to let him try. It may be tough for you to watch him get slammed around, but just remember the inherent benefits within the game, and let him have at it.
Football is a game, but it mimics the realities of real life. Many of the lessons taught within the game are lessons that are crucial for dealing with the real world. How many times have you been "knocked down" by life circumstances? How many times have you been afraid? How many times would self-discipline have served you much better than the haphazard approaches to life that you have taken in your past? See...the game of football helps to teach those good lessons.
In Genesis 1:28, when God said to Adam and Eve, "...multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over...every living thing..." he was instructing them as to the mentality that they were to have toward what He had made. God intended for man to take responsibility for "taming" what He had made. In order for man to do that, and to continue to do that, he must learn fearlessness, toughness, discipline, teamwork, commitment, perseverance, selflessness, creativity and humility among countless other things.
Think about the men and women who tamed the West. Doubtless, they had to rise up to meet an extreme challenge, which they did. The comforts of life came at great cost. Maybe not to us, but to someone. Without the above qualities within the lives of certain men and women, our world would be a very different place. God planted so much in the way of resources within the ground of these United States. But he also planted within the men and women who inhabit this place the necessary attributes to discover those resources and to refine them to the benefit of mankind. Know this, it is this mentality that has served in making this nation the most prosperous nation in recent world history.
So, while we do acknowledge that its purity has been perverted and that we are prone to distort it into something bad, we ought also acknowledge the potential God-given blessings experienced through sports. And in sports, as in all of life, we should pray for a God-honoring perspective, make decisions according to the knowledge of God that we find through His Word and the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and then we should go out and fulfill His mandate to us to subdue what He has made.
"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." - Colossians 3:17
By the grace of God, for many years in the good ol' U.S. of A., it was easy to view Christianity as "everyman’s" religion. Your grandparents were church-goers, your parents grew up in or at least around the church, most everyone at least knew of...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Have you had enough of the heat yet? If so, I bring you good tidings of great joy...we have come to the end of the "dog days" of summer. Now, don't get too excited, there is still yet plenty of August to go and up into September is pretty hot...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Today's post is an entry from Charles Spurgeon's daily devotional, titled "Morning and Evening". I pray that God uses it to bless, challenge and encourage you. If you enjoy this devotional reading, consider getting yourself a copy and benefit...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
"God...who does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number." - Job 9:10 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:9...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
You remember the name Paul Revere from the history books, don't you? You may even recall the famous Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem (not historically precise, but very good and patriotic) titled "Paul Revere's Ride". The beginning of which reads,
Burial Hill in the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts serves as the final resting place for many influential figures in American history, one of which is Reverend William Brewster. Though the precise location of his remains is unknown, he is...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
A "trump card" is a particular card or suit which ranks the highest in a card game and ensures victory for the one who possesses it. God has granted to his people a trump card of sorts, which secures victory for them in every situation. The...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
In Congress, July 4, 1776 "The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
As you enter the north entrance of the Yellowstone National Park there is an archway which was constructed in 1903 to welcome you. The large inscription at the top of the 50-foot arch reads, "For the benefit and enjoyment of the people". While...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
