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Football Is Great … Until It Becomes False Religion

In America, there are two dominant religions—Christianity and sports, football specifically. Sometimes, they can work together. Oftentimes, they lie in contrast to one another. 

America loves football. Meaningless football games will garner higher ratings than anything else on television. But what is it about football, and sports in general, that captures our nation’s attention? I would contend that part of what makes sports attractive to us, and men in general, are issues that echo a Christian worldview.

Often, our culture tells us there is no truth, no absolutes and, essentially, nothing to strive after. We are adrift in a world with no meaning. Then there are sports.

There are at least three areas where sports echo reality, even when culture refuses to acknowledge it as such.

Here is part of the reason why football and sports speak to so many in our world.

1. Rules and regulations.

There could be no sports without rules that are to be applied fairly to everyone. While the world says that there are no absolutes, sports lay down regulations that are to be followed no matter what. They provide the parameters needed to understand the game and successfully participate in it.

In life, despite what our culture may say, we need rules that provide guidance for our lives. We want to know the places we should go and those we should not go. At that point, it is up to us as to whether we obey the rules or not, but knowing that they are present provides comfort for us and stability in a life that often seems chaotic. We know these rules exist because we expect others to treat us a certain way.

Sports are one of the last areas in our culture where rules are an accepted part of the participation.

2. Goals to work toward.

What is a sport without a goal? Within the game, you have certain goals (score a touchdown, make a tackle, hit the shot, hit the ball, etc.) and the game as a whole has one main goal—win. As Trevin Wax so eloquently put it: “Don’t give your kid a trophy for losing.”

Our world doesn’t really give us substantial goals to work toward. Sports speak against this. Every game has some type of goal. A goalless game is a waste of time. What should that say about our lives? Shouldn’t our actual lives have more meaning than our games?

Sports reject the notion that goals are insignificant, but rather understand the depth they bring to our lives.

3. Individuals within a team.

Some individual sports can gain significant followers and viewers, but there is a reason why they refer to football, basketball, baseball and hockey as “the big four” in America. Team sports dominate our viewing and participatory habits.

The world can only go in one of the two extremes. Either we stress the individual and ignore the team, or we ignore the individual to stress the team. True teams are made up of individuals who have put aside all real differences to work toward a common goal. Yet each player on a team is distinct and has their own specific role and function within the larger team.

This lines up with Christianity, which teaches that we are created in the image of a Triune God, who exists as three in one—diversity with unity. In a football team, there are many parts, but they can only achieve their goals when they work together. God has created us to work within units (marriage, family, church), where we are to be distinct parts with differing abilities, responsibilities and callings, but also a unified whole with a shared purpose.

Sports show us that individualism and collectivism are both wrong. We should remain distinct, while growing as a unit.

When we examine sports, we can see many things that reflect the truth of our situation. These three things in particular provide us with echoes of our creation and why we are here.