Got this from a book by Tony Evans called “Kingdom Man” that my men’s group is going through together on Saturday Mornings.
Let’s talk about football now. Really, a professional football game is just a monster “worship service”, and nobody ever complains about all the “stuff” that they complain about regarding Church.
A football game is 60 minutes long, but there is only 17 minutes or so of actual playing time, as the clock keeps running while the players are in the huddle and between plays. But people are so dedicated and reverent, that they don’t mind having a 17 minute game expanded to take up 60 minutes of their time, and they don’t grumble about the breaks in between quarters or at half time that turns it into a 3 hour commitment, or the couple hours they have to drive to the game each way that turns it into a 7 hour commitment to “Worship” in a crowded, cold stadium with 50,000 other people to watch 17 minutes of action. I also don’t see too many people deciding that the amount they have to put “in the plate” as a mandatory offering ($45 ticket price) to attend is too high and it keeps them from going. Then there are the additional contributions they make at the concession stands, $9 for a $3 beer, $6 for a $2 hotdog, etc.
YET, people complain about going to Church where the offering is 100% voluntary (we can talk about our willingness to give God His first fruits another time), or where the service is an hour long and the “action” or the sermon typically is 20-30 minutes, not just 17 minutes like an NFL game.
Why are we so much more committed to the NFL than our God? After a game that took WAY more committment to attend than our Church service, we then tune in to the after game show to listen to some guys talk about the game, then we read with interest on the internet or the newspaper the next day about the game we saw and the analysis the newspaper writer wants to give. Do we make the same time commitment to our Church Service, or follow up during the week with the same time commitment reading the Bible as we do checking out the sports pages to check on our Fantasy Football Team?
Think about it . . .