Articles
Are We Following The Crowd
Wouldn't it be great if everyone walked around all day Friday, excited about the evening's events, a time when hundreds of folks anxiously gathered in the grandstands, ready to sit through warm weather, cold weather, rainy weather, what ever weather we had, all to pack the stands and ...........sing praises to God!
There is nothing wrong with football, or any other sport for that matter. We know from scripture and secular history that people of all ages have gathered in coliseums and arenas for various sporting events, although some of them didn't end well, they ended with bloody body parts being drug to nearby graves. I'm certainly thankful that we don't throw prisoners to the lions anymore, or have gladiators swinging swords to the death. I'm glad our Tigers only devour their opponents on the scoreboard.
But as our society has become more civilized over the centuries, we still struggle with whatever it is that packs the stands with sports enthusiasts at the stadiums, yet fails to fill the pews with believers on Sunday.
Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."..."The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30, Deut 6:4-5)
Jesus gave that answer to a teacher of the law who asked Him what the greatest commandment was. After Christ answered, the man said, "To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
That hasn't changed in God's eyes. It's more important than anything we could do today too, regardless of what size of crowd it draws!
