The Real Reason for the Kaepernick Outrage

Why are people so angry over an NFL player that refused to stand for the National Anthem?    Hundreds of thousands of words have been written on the subject and I won't rehash any of them but I'd ask you to consider the reason people are outraged and why it matters.

Sports fan is a shortened form of the original term, sports fanatic.  Fanatic is defined as a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal (great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective), especially for an extreme religious or political cause.  A religion can be defined as pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance.

We all know these folks, the ones that come to work on Monday depressed because their team lost.  Sports fans across the world spend their time, talent, and money supporting "their team".  They raise their hands and sing praises and cheers in loud voices.  There is nothing wrong with healthy spectator sports, time with friends, and having a good time at an event.  In a balanced life and mind, the wholesome good time of competition and sport is a gift from God but there is another side.

Sports Devotion

As society has moved away from the acknowledgement of the Most High, other things have moved into His place.  Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is so will your heart be.  How many follow every play, watch every interview, devote entire weekends to tailgate and game day, how many stand and cheer and pour their entire attention into a game?  Have sports become too important in their lives?  Do they neglect their family and other important activities during "the season"?

The Sports Fan Couch Potato

Before my husband was saved, I called myself a "Football Widow".  I had no idea how many games were played Saturday through Monday.  If we were not watching a game, we were watching sports TV, and I would be alone every home game.  He'd leave in the morning and return late in the evening chilled to the bone and reeking of stale beer.  He was looking for something to fill the hole, looking for something to be devoted to, and in the end, sports were better than drugs, spending, or women.

Sports Worship

Sports has become an idol, in the sense that fans are "devoted" and "zealous".  We are warned against this in Scripture:

1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

1 Corinthians 10:14 ESV Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

Judges 10:14 ESV Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.

Extreme Weather Fans

So if sports are a god, then people expect them to behave like a god.  They should be honorable and fair and their players should be righteous and good.  As such, when a god does not behave people react with extreme indignation.

FIFA Bribery Corruption

The lesser gods of players are not forgiven for their sins, Kaepernick is just the latest.  Micheal Vick, Tom Brady, Ray Lewis, Lance Armstrong, Joe Paterno, OJ Simpson all have exhibited personal behavior unbecoming to a god and the public has been brutal in its condemnation.

Disgraced Swimmer

This is the real reason behind the Kaepernick uproar; not a spoiled, rich athlete who should know better, simply an object of worship who is not worthy of the devotion.  In the end, only one is worthy, the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

The Hectic Life of a Sports Family

Abigail and Dolley readers, today let's talk about something touchy, sports.   (Take a little ride with me, this is a not an attack on anyone but more of a dramatized tale.  Just pretend that I am the "Ghost of Christmas Present".  Even if your experience is not this extreme, perhaps you can find some truth in the below.)  Sports... the great American pastime, it evokes images of camaraderie, cheering spectators, and life's lessons learned on the ball field.  Just good plain fun, but is that the honest truth in today's world?  An idealized view of modern sports drive behavior and decision making in American families.  We maniacally throwing our children into one activity after the next, all in pursuit of a sports fantasy.  For countless families, the reality is far from fantastic.

In the not so distant past, kids played a variety of different sports.  Sports had seasons and kids moved from one season to another, not settling on a single sport until their late high school years, if ever.  This variety taught them different skill sets, types of movement, tempos, and paces.  Multiple sports insured kids had different friends, coaches, and experiences. Sports were a balanced part of a well rounded childhood, where the family did not revolve around the child or his activities. Today, it is widely believed and practiced that parents should select their "kid's sport" by age eight.  Once chosen, then the wholehearted investment, commitment/pressure, and expenses begin.  These kids embark on a journey of conditioning seasons during the heat of the Summer, special camps, travel teams, year round sports, clinics, personal trainers, and position coaches - for ten year olds.

Let's consider the time.  Public school demands more time from your child's life than ever before - 38 hours a week from bus ride to bus ride + homework.  Then we drag these kids to hours of sports practices and games.  Frazzled moms yell at tired kids to do their homework on the one hour commute to the "away" game and not get fast food mustard on the seat.  Are you tired yet?  Wait, there's more.  Now multiply this scenario by the number of kids, who play different sports, have different practice times, and different locations.  Mom takes one kid and Dad takes the other.  Other relatives are recruited and this insanity bleeds over into households that don't even have children.   Add in Scouts, Dance, Music, and Art because they need to be well rounded.  The truth is we try to give our kids everything that we wanted and didn't get.  Recently, I overheard a lady comment to a boy, "Where've you been, Justin?  We haven't seen you in weeks."  The young boy shook his head, sighed, and said, "I've had 11 games in the last 14 days."  This conversation took place as the 7th grade Junior Cotillion class that was dismissing at 8:30 pm.   That 12 year old boy had put in a 13 hour day and I'd bet he still had homework.

Modern Idolatry

In Second Grade, the highlight of the week was Wednesday when the retired Senior Pastor would teach Old Testament Bible class.  He was gentle story teller who wove pictures and told tales that came alive in our imaginations.  We cheered the victories of the heroes and hung our heads in shame at their failures.  His stories about the Patriarchs, Moses, the Judges, and the Kings were fascinating.

The Old Testament is full of heroes and miracles but it is also full of idol worship.  Idol worship is strange to the modern mind, it seems silly.  As a kid, I always thought that I would never fall victim to all of the sins of the Israelites.  I mean who bows down to a cow statue, right?  I thought idolatry was dead, but is it?

Idol Worship - Then and Now

Idolatry is anything you love more than you should, where you devote your passion, your time, your money, and your thoughts.  Often your devotion will become part of who you are, your defining characteristic and part of how other people describe you.  Think about it for a second, what is the first adjective that comes out of someone's mouth describing your character?  Do they say: "He's an Executive", she's a "Sports Mom" or "She's in great shape"?  How do you describe yourself?  Be honest, what's the first adjective that you use?  How are you defining yourself?.

Now take it even deeper, what do you love?  Do you love your company, your work, your team, your children, your body?  Do you love them more than God?  Do you chose that activity over attending regular worship?  Will you drag yourself out of a sick bed to go to a game but pull the covers over your head for church?  Are you spending evenings reviewing spread sheets and reports but haven't picked up your Bible in years?  Will you drive two hours for a business appointment but not set aside a lunch hour a month to go to a men's Bible Study? Will you drive your exhausted children to football practice four days a week but let them sleep in on Sunday?

Where are your priorities?  Because, my Friends, I will tell you idolatry is not dead, it just wears a new face.  It has a business suit, a yoga bra. or a sports jersey, it might even be looking back at you from that selfie.  Is it in your children, who you try to give a perfect life free of the pain and failure you experienced as a kid?

The first two commandments state, you shall have no other God's before me and you shall not worship idols.  My friends, we are a nation that puts money, business, ourselves and sports above God.  We worship at the alter of the Dow Jones and fret over every jobs report.  We ecstatically worship in arenas, stadiums, and high school football bleachers and turn our noses up in disdain if the person beside us in church lifts their hand in worship and praise.  We care for our bodies in such a way that we are afraid to eat Salmon that has swum by a Salmon farm for fear of contamination.  We have become shallow, lame, and utterly boring in our inward focus and our worldly worship.

Sports Worship

We are a world of idolaters who thumb our noses at the Most High God.  We are a world ripe for judgement.  We are a world of scoffers and idolaters.  God will not be mocked, HE will not stand idly by forever.  Our world has been under a series of judgments for decades and they have escalated since 9/11.  I truly believe a third major judgement will soon befall this world soon if we do not repent and turn back to God.
We can not as individuals control the disintegration of this present darkness but we can change our own hears, we can change our families.  I implore you to look inside, look deeply inside, judge yourself harshly, judge yourself by the standard of perfection - look upon your life, repent, and change.  Ask God to be merciful to you and to your Nation.  Ask for His healing, return to Him.  He loves you, He'll take you back.

Honor, Oh Honor Where Have You Gone?

Abigail and Dolley readers it has occurred to me recently that we are genuinely lacking in honor.  Honor is no longer taught as a virtue or touted as a worthy attribute; only in the military cultures does it remain.  Woe to us if that were to ever change.  Our lack of honor and the loss thereof is clearly demonstrated in the character of the two men that will vie for the Presidency this year; neither has enough honor to fill a thimble.

We see the lack of honor in sports, from the pee-wee level to the professional arena, winning trumps honor at every turn.  Cheating, spying, and dirty play are only thought evil if they are caught.  The man who stands up for honor is shouted down, ridiculed, and despised.  The coach who calls a foul is aggressively and openly  challenged by the cheater, for the cheater feels it is his right to cheat if that is what it takes to win.

We see the lack of honor in our marriages through infidelity, pornography, neglect and abuse.  It is present in men and women equally, we no longer condemn adulterers.  We attend wedding celebrations of people who have left their spouses and their children for an adulterous relationship and wish the new couple well.  The culture spits venom and bile at those who believe and vote for traditional definitions of marriage and you won't win a lot of friends pointing out the general lack of honor.

Children break the 5th Commandment everyday, there is no honor of Mother and Father.  Many parents cry themselves to sleep at night fretting over their young adult children.  Who despite their best efforts are morally reprehensible vermin with no sense of responsibility, work ethic, or respect.

In life, we do not have a choice where we are born or who we are born to.  We have no choice in our natural beauty or intelligence.  We do have a choice in what kind of people we will be, sadly most do not choose the honorable life.

The primary ways that honor has been taught in our society is through the father and the church.  The father is gone and church attendance is at its lowest levels in American history.  Alas, honor was one of the first to pack its bags and leave for a virtue, like our Lord, never stays where it is not wanted.

Ethics and a Love of the Game

Thanks to Abigail and Dolley for letting me throw out one of my rants on the world of ethics or lack thereof.

I love college football. I like the pro game, and enjoy playing sports quite a lot. But, college football is the only sport you will consistently find me watching on the television. The USC (Southern Cal, not the real USC Gamecocks of the SEC) football program is one of the most storied programs in all of college football. Along with programs like Notre Dame, Alabama, Texas, Ohio State etc, they have a consistent record of winning. Now Pete Carroll is leaving USC to go back to the Professional game from which he came. He says it is the right opportunity at just the right time. But, really Coach Carroll is leaving under a cloud of shame. USC is being investigated for multiple recruiting violations. Is the coach getting out before the storm hits USC fully? I don't know, but I do see a disturbing continuing trend here.

I turn to sports for an escape, to relive my own glory days,and to be entertained. I don't think any of us turn to sports to see college football programs racked with violations of rules of fair play. I don't want to see Barry Bonds perjure himself concerning performance enhancing drugs, I don't want to hear Mark McGuire cry any more because he injected performance enhancing drugs. We are talking about athletes in their prime. I see their use of drugs to aid their performance as a symptom of their greed. Greed for glory, greed for that next big endorsement deal.

Don't even get me going on Tiger Woods... A guy who reportedly cried about his father's infidelities who goes out and does the same. Talk about a culture of lack of ethics.

For me, I'm done with it. I will continue to play the sports I love, but I no longer care about the big time sports on TV. I may watch with detached interest, but I will not give my money to support the products these guys are endorsing. I hope High School sports are still immune to it, but something tells me that many of these big time high school football programs have also been somehow corrupted by it all.

What does this have to do with this blog? It is a reflection of a cancer in our society. I'm ashamed of it and I hope if We the People, say "enough!" And, if we turn away from accepting this behavior and vote with our wallets by not purchasing the sponsors products perhaps we can cause a change. Naive? Probably. Noble? Perhaps. Worth it? Absolutely.