Modern Idols: Devotions From Time Of GraceSample

The idol of sports What is it with kids’ soccer leagues and their Sunday morning games anyway? Are those leagues run by total heathens? Or do the parents ask for that time slot because they’re not going to go to church anyway? Sports for people of all ages are awesome! Leave it to Satan to find a way to take something good and morph it into something bad. You know sports is becoming an idol when... you skip church so that you can watch two hours of NFL pregame shows plus all three games... you get violent and abusive to your family when your team loses... you spend more money on sports gear than you would ever put into a collection plate... you think nothing of driving your kids to out-of-town basketball tournaments every weekend... your family’s lives are falling apart but you don’t notice because you’re playing golf all the time. St. Paul used sports analogies to encourage believers to focus! “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:25-27). If you have the slightest suspicion that your sports life is out of balance, have a family meeting today.