Devotion 2.2.15

This is being written prior to the game that most of us surely watched.  Interestingly enough, I heard a stat on radio Friday that said that NBC had not sold all the commercial time slots until a few days before the hallowed game which, as the story noted, was much later than last year's.  Last year, the network carrying the Super Bowl sold out ads about a month before the game.

Reason?  Bad press this year?  Begin with spousal and partner abuse.  Another charge is the on-going coverage of the brutality of the sport with concussions, injuries, and such.  What about the inane nature of the coverage?  We act outraged over Deflategate and demand answers as well as anger over officiating and add things such as the replay of the 5 minute non-interview with inner-city Marshawn Lynch over and over while there are other weightier stories of far more significance in the world sit on the sidelines.  There is also the shear amount of coverage of a game that usually is less about the sport than the spectacle itself to "crown" a champion probably wears on the average fan of the game.

We spend a great deal of money on this game, and football in general, starting in grade schools, moving through the college ranks, and then on to professional football.  It is hard to measure in dollars how much we spend, but Cowboy stadium cost $1 billion dollars, so you can probably guestimate how much money changes hands for the game in general, as well as just one Super Bowl.

There is nothing wrong with profit, and there are probably countless jobs created by such revenue.  Yet think of the massive amount of money generated by sport  which makes Christ's comment in Luke resonate even more so: "For where your treasure is, there will be your heart as well." (Luke 12:34)

How much do I give to other things before I give to God?  How much time do I give to such important things like sports and other earthly topics rather than share the Word with someone in a simple way. I pray that I use our limited time on earth wisely and that our hearts are aligned with our hopes in the resurrection through how we use that time or other precious resources God has given us.

Peace in the Risen Christ...and hope you enjoyed the game.

Hope Men's Ministry