Saturday Night Fever

I am married to a man who loves college football.  I married him knowing that from Labor Day weekend until the BCS bowl games are all over that he will be glued to the television set watching it.  It does not bother me.  Saturday evening at 4:30 the marathon begin with the Alabama kickoff in Atlanta.  We had some friends and family over for a cook out and several of them were glued to the television watching.....to see who was going to win.  Once the Auburn game came on the television remote got a workout as it flipped from one game to the other. 

I guess I should be delighted that Frank does not care for NFL football.  While everyone was here there was a lot of talk about Johnny Football and after hearing the talk I decided to make a statement about the state of athletics today.  Young kids really look up to athletes.  Once the players leave college and head to the pros they make a huge amount of money.  Many of them get more than I will ever be paid in my lifetime.  They are put up on pedestals, idolized,....and that is wrong!  They are human.  They should not be placed in such a revered spot.  It breaks my heart when they reach the same status as God....and then they throw it all away with some stupid action.  They know that they are above rules and can do anything without being held accountable.  This does not just apply to athletes, there are other people in entertainment, politics, etyc that kids look at and imitate....that maybe they shouldn't.  I want to share a story with you about Mr. Hands.  "This guy was good! He could catch passes most people didn’t even wave at. Opposing players looked like high school kids next to this college star. Mr. Hands (not his real name) was such a good receiver that most people were ready to give him the Heisman Trophy without even voting on it. There was no doubt he was the best player in the land. And the land had a bunch of good players. But then our hero forgot something. He didn’t forget to run the right routes for his quarterback. He didn’t forget how to wrap his strong fingers around the pigskin. He forgot one of God’s laws. You know this law. It’s the one your parents might remind you about when you don’t turn in your homework. Or when you try to sneak around and do something you aren’t supposed to. It’s the law from God that says, "Whatever you sow, that’s what you’ll reap." If you plant corn in your garden, don’t expect to come back in two months and pick tomatoes. And if you plant sin, don’t expect to turn around and find God blessing you. The Heisman Trophy candidate forgot the law when he went into a store and walked out with hundreds of dollars of merchandise that he didn’t completely pay for. Of course, he also forgot to check for a store security camera, which caught the deed on tape-but that’s another story. As a result of stealing these clothes, the football star was dropped from consideration for the Heisman Trophy. He sowed dishonesty and he reaped embarrassment. He gained some new clothes, but he lost some pretty impressive hardware. God wasn’t kidding. He meant it when he had Paul write this verse: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows" (Galatians 6:7). Do you know how much God cares for you? He cares enough to let you know how things work in His world. He doesn’t make up stuff after we do it and say, "Ha! Ha! I caught you." No, he says, "Listen, my child. Let me give you some help. If you do bad things, other bad things will follow. But if you do good things, you will be honored." Sowing. Reaping. It’s pretty clear. The football player knew that. But he thought just this once he could sneak by without consequence. Bad idea for him. Bad idea for you. God loves you, and he wants what’s best."  If we are smart we will listen to what He tells us. If you go looking for trouble, it will find you.