sports

Confessions of a screwed up middle aged man: the “real gods”

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re-post
I always find it difficult to re-enter the work place especially after a long weekend.
Why?
Well I can tell you it is not due to the fact of laziness or the desire to not to drive in traffic.
The real factor in it is that I see how separate I am from the world and those that choose to live within it.
The first thing I encountered was the heavy and detailed discussions of the sporting universe.
At this time of year it is football, but no matter the time of year it is one sport or the other that is the main focus of those about me.
They quote stats, know salaries, and even playing styles.
These are the real gods of most of today’s society. I will almost guarantee that if I was in Europe the topic would be soccer a.k.a. the real football to those in Britain and the E.U.
In reality per the Bible who is to be the focal point of our everyday life and thoughts?

[Jeopardy theme song playing in this blank area]

Ok so what did come up with?
Your church?
Your children?
Yourself?
The answer is God.
God is to be the center of our lives. With all our hearts, minds and souls, we are to focus all our thoughts throughout the day.
When God is first you may like some sports, but they are not to be the central focal point of your everyday existence within this temporal plain.
You may enjoy some entertainment.
We are to live in moderation. We can enjoy some elements some of the time, but once these enjoyments take up more and more of your live then you are living an imbalanced life and destine to fall. As is typical when out of balance.
This is especially true when God, if even thought upon at all, is a sideshow within your life.
This mean you are not following the teachings of Christ and have strayed from the message of salvation.
Think upon that for a while.

The new gods

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In the first commandment it states clearly In Exodus 20:3 – Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Yet today that is not all there is even to those that profess to be “Christian.”
Now right this moment I have made a lot of people upset with me, but hear me out. Do you talk more about God or a TV show? Do you talk more about the Bible or a sport? Do you talk more about Jesus or the way a celebrity looks or said something?
If the answer to these questions were not God, the Bible and Jesus welcome to your new gods. You are living in sin. For when Jesus added two new commandants which increased it to twelve, matching the tribes of Israel, the new number one is:
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment.
So look at the importance of this. It is stated twice and is reinforced in the new number one.
So it is God that you should be talking about. It is the Bible for that is God’s instruction manual to humanity and our salvation can only be reached through God’s Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
So what are you going to do about it?

2 Timothy 4:1-5

Idols

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So in Exodus 20:4-5 God goes into great detail of what He considers to be idolatry. He spells out the parameters of what falls into the category. Now today many would say there is no idolatry. I, on the other hand, would challenge this statement. Do not sporting teams have images? Are they not craved, drawn? Do they not consist of things in and below the heavens? Are they not worshiped? The answer is yes, yes, yes and yes. Gee, I guess that is idolatry. As a result I hear more about sporting events, teams and personalities more than I ever hear of God. So had not these sports taken the place of God? Yes.

Then per God four to six generations are to be cursed due to this behavior, and are we not in these very generations in the United States? Again the answer is yes. And is this nation not suffering more then it has ever before? Once again yes.

I need say nothing more.

A new year begins and there are still surprises

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Today officially a new year begins for me. It already shows promise and at the same time already shows trails. Now I get to see if the mundane will be the same. The mundane is one of the greatest trials that effects most. It is this that I think causes a lot of trouble for all. They cannot accept it due to promises made by parents and others in authority.
A prime example is the “white knight” that ladies look for throughout their lives. There are many other examples: sports, fame and winning the lottery. All focus on one thing. Rewards here upon the earth. All also promise to remove the mundane.
Here is the kicker: They just create a different type of mundane. A “white knight” is not the answer. Being great at sports is not the answer. Fame is not the answer. Money is not the answer.
How can I get folks to understand that this life we now live is a mere blink in the eye to the life we are ALL promised we will live, but how we live in this blink will determine how good or bad the next billion years will be. Each little action we make in the next hour is as important as a lifetime of behavior towards those about us. An action that will affect us for an eternity. A core element is ones believe in God. It is better to believe there is a God then not. Why? Because time and again those that deny God fall into depravity while that that say there is a God avoid certain acts of behavior that helps make society thrive and grow.
Now accepting there is God and asking God into your life as different as believing or not believing in God in the first place. I would like you to accept God into your life. I see the importance. I know that seeking reward upon this earth is futile because I know there is wonders that will be beyond this temporal existence that are more than worth waiting for and that is a true reward.

AT THIS POINT I COULD NOT THINK OF MORE TO SAY AND PROCEEDED TO GO TO WORK. WHAT IS TO FOLLOW IS WHAT HAPPENED AFTER I GOT TO WORK.

And what is the first thing I am greeted with as I walk into to work.
“So and So passed away!”
This man sought after the here the now. The rewards of this earth. He cussed and told dirty jokes and thought himself loved by those about him. Yet people did not. They degraded and talk badly about him. Knew that if they wished short cuts to be done he was the “go to” person.
Now he is gone. From all outward signs he was not right with God. He did not have a personal relationship with God, nor did I think he even believed in God. I treated him as I try and treat all about me as my equal. I was nice, but I never got the opportunity to talk to him of God. Was this my failing, or God’s timing? He lived his live in sin of this I have no doubt. I have witnessed firsthand him showing hundred dollar bills held like a hand of cards up to a camera on a computer screen to show some woman on the other side of the world that cared nothing for him but cared only for the money on display before her.
Did he leave any true evidence of his existence? What is there that can truly last? Another person’s soul. I don’t mean children, I mean a soul. We have them you know. All of us. It is that part of us that will go on and live for forever. It is that part of us that will remove the corrupt and put on the uncorrupted. This is what is important in seeking out and asking God into your life. We are to bear the fruit of salvation for as many as will listen. So that once the time comes that we do receive the uncorrupted we will also be ready to receive the reward that is promised us. Not in this temporal life but in the eternal life that will be filled with rewards and wonders beyond compare.
Are you ready for the eternal life?