SPORTS AND IDOLATRY

It happens with regularity. It's happened this week. I've read it on some blogs. I'm just glad the blogs were not written by any one I know. That way you'll know what I'm writing isn't personal. It's just personal!  You get my meaning! 

When Christians join with a segment of our society in getting excited about a sporting event like an NBA finals run as a Thunder fan, [or Heat fan]  or a national championship run as a Sooner or Cowboy fan, or even getting excited about seeing their children or grandchildren play baseball when the summer rolls around, some preachers begin to label those Christians who join with them in the excitement of the sport, idol worshippers, because what they're doing takes so much time and money.  [This is especially true if their game falls on a Sunday.]  Because it has become obvious, to the blog writer at least, that they are putting those things before the Lord in their life.  [They skipped going to church of all things and that's bad, but not giving an offering before they skipped is worse.  LOL]  


Such thinking is based on a hierarchical list of things to be done by any Christian with God number one, then church attendance, family, job, or a varied alignment of things deemed important. And, to top it all off, if God isn't first, those preachers say, He won't bless. And until and unless He is first in a Christian's life, He won't be pleased. [And, boy is He ticked with those sports fans right now.]

Well, YES!  Idolatry IS wrong. About that there is no argument. It is certainly seen that way in scripture. Also, sports CAN  become an idol to a Christian, most definitely!  Declaring something an idol in someone else's life, however, presents at least a two-fold problem as I see things.

One problem is that calling something an idol may__all too often__be based on what the accused [ other Christians] are doing with their TIME AND MONEY as opposed to what the accusers [blog writing preachers] are doing with their TIME AND MONEY. But is that wise?


You see, I'm not sure but what time and money spent in costly traveling from conference to conference or from one pastor's meeting to another in churches, might, for a pastor, and I know this from experience, often begin to take priority over having a real personal relationship with the Lord. When this happens, it's no less idolatry than is sports for someone else, by their own definition. 


Then I have my own personal definition of what constitutes an idol and mine varies from their's a little. I believe it's often easier to WORK for God than it is to KNOW God and anything that becomes a SUBSTITUTE for knowing God is an idol__ by my definition. That would include, potentially, church attendance and even giving of money. You can even see that, by my definition, one's "preaching ministry" can become an idol. It did for me.  I said it this way, "One day I discovered I loved preaching about the Lord , more than I love the Lord about whom I preached." Who would have thought that preaching could become my idol. But it did!

I'm even wondering if church attendance and giving__especially when used as a measuring stick for spirituality__might not be a BIGGER form of idolatry than sports for some. This would be because that particular idol tends to allow for an elevation of the guilty party to the place of God in the lives of others. [judging/condemning them]. 

When you read this you will need to remember that I pastored for forty years and enjoyed it all the while__ including the pain and problems that occur within the pleasure of pastoring__and I'm not without the experience of low attendance and a great need of finances as an organization. But this isn't about going to church or to a sporting event. Neither of those is evil within themselves. It's about making them idols and both can be made that as I will show.  


You see, I'm wondering if church attendance and giving [time/money] to an organization called the "church" for many of us who have pastored or are presently pastoring, or even people who measure their spirituality by their service to that organization, have not become idols in our lives. 

This is because church attendance and giving an offering are not biblically SYNONYMOUS with being a Christian or even with being spiritual. One can actually do either of those and not even BE a Christian. And, AS a Christian, they certainly can become a poor substitute [idol] for the experiencing of a real relationship with the living God that is a moment by moment experience whether you choose to go to church three times a week or not. 

The second thing I see as a problem with the before mentioned declarations of idolatry by blog writers is that those kinds of statements are__ all-too-often__ made with words that reflect FEAR and a kind of RETREAT from the "world" [society] rather than a true love for the Lord, His people, and even the world. [People outside His Kingdom.] It certainly reflects people who've lost a desire to be light and salt where they live. Retreat and fear are two things that are the antithesis of what biblical Christianity is all about. 

What that means is for a Christian [or blog writing preacher] to RETREAT from culture out of FEAR of being tainted by sin, is as far from what is seen in the life of Jesus in the New Testament as anything imaginable. The FEAR of being tainted, being worldly, losing reputation, or even yielding to temptation, is still FEAR driven, and "perfect [mature] love casts out all fear" according to scripture. 


In those same scriptures the fact is made clear that the opposite of faith is not unbelief, but fear. "Oh ye of little faith, why are you so fearful?" was spoken by our Lord to a boat-load of disciples that were doing what they were doing because they were afraid. 

Our faith isn't to drive us AWAY from our culture because we're fearful of it, but, rather, we're, in fact, driven INTO our culture with our faith intact so that our Lord can make a difference in our lives everywhere we find ourselves.

So I have two suggestions that will help shed some light on all this and, if heeded, might at the same time keep us from idolatry, whatever form the idol takes. [In other words__able to be in the world but not of the world whether it's the secular world or the sacred world, which is a misnomer by the way as I will show next time.]  

I will elaborate on those suggestions in the next couple of posts.


Paul B.