Kickoff

God is intensely serious about making sure that our hearts are devoted to Him, and He desires for us
to make Him first in our lives. Exodus 20 says this:
3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5a you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.

We can examine our own hearts and determine what or who it is that we worship.  If our spiritual activity is merely an "add-on" to our lives, then our priorities need to be adjusted.  God is interested in our whole heart, and He knows that He can fully express Himself through us as we are committed to Him.  But, if our hearts are being pulled in directions other than His, and if we spend more mental, emotional, or physical energy on pursuits that are detrimental to our walk with the Lord, then we have set up other "gods" before Him.  He is the One True God, and we are to regard Him as such.

+++++

God wants us to know Him and to regard Him in the position of being Lord over our lives. 1st John 5 offers these words of exhortation:
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

It's just about here - the annual rite known as the start of college football season.  The gridirons across our land will come alive with the sounds of signals being called and pads clashing; the crowds will cheer and jeer, and the adrenaline rush like no other will be in full force.

It's been said that especially across the South that football is a religion.  Interestingly enough, it you were to attend Presbyterian College in South Carolina, you could take a one-credit course called "Religion of SEC Football," according to a story on the CBSSports.com website.

The founders of the class, Dr. Michael Nelson and Dr. Terry Barr, are professors at the school, which is located in South Carolina - I had to look it up; it's between Greenville and Columbia.  Nelson is an Arkansas fan, Barr goes for the Crimson Tide

Nelson is quoted as saying, "Very quickly it became clear to us the parallels with religion were abundant," adding, "Even Nick Saban at a press conference is akin to a pulpit."

Close to the beginning of the class, students are asked to write a confessional explaining the roots of their college football faith. The professors used to require college football "atheists" to find someone to write about, but they now let students reflect on another topic if they're not a rabid football fan. Many students write about their parents' die-hard football habits.

Barr related about the responses: "Quite often the students reflect on why do I understand the rituals of football and don't even understand the rituals of the church service? Why don't I spend more time thinking about Jesus instead of whether (Clemson quarterback) Deshaun Watson will win the Heisman Trophy?"

The inspiration for the course: the book Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, by Warren St. John, which depicts, according to the article, "the roving community of Alabama fans who follow the team from game to game in RVs. One passage from the book that students have dissected is why a set of Alabama fans missed their daughter's wedding and went to the reception after the game ended."

Nelson said that the students "are all in agreement across the board that these people have their priorities totally messed up, and clearly there are things more important than football."

There are several books about SEC Football that are used in the class.  Readings from them help to generate some questions for students to consider, according to the article: "Can a person be devoutly religious and still be a college football fanatic? At what point does devotion to one team become zealotry? And is it OK to be more devoted to football than religion?"

According to Nelson, "I think for a lot of people in our society this really has become a civic religion," adding, "It's the idols we worship. What would compel me on a Thursday to pack up my two boys and drive to Fayetteville, Arkansas 15 hours away? It's a pilgrimage. The stadiums are meccas."

Barr related several stories about growing up in a household with a father who was a devout Alabama fan. Barr's first Tide game was the tie with Tennessee when he was 9 - his did told Barr he was a jinx.  He also recalled one man not attending church the day after Alabama lost to Auburn simply because he didn't want to be ridiculed.  He witnessed his dad respond angrily to a friend riding in their car who was ridiculing Alabama after a loss to Vanderbilt.  Barr said,  "It's a strange circumstance that, in your church, you can be made to feel so horrible over a game you have no control over."

Don't be that person, right?!  So, what's your attitude toward college football?  I literally cannot wait - and I get a jump on the Tiger and Tide fans...my beloved Tennessee Volunteers open up a Neyland Stadium this Thursday night against Appalachian State, a team that played its last game at Cramton Bowl!  By the way, the Blue Hose of Presbyterian College open up against Central Michigan this Thursday.

I like my college football, but don't we really all have to make sure we keep it in check?  The Bible speaks of idolatry.  Professor Nelson spoke of the "idols we worship" and how football has become a "civic religion."  God delights in our enjoyment, but when our activities become a replacement of our enjoyment of Him, then it may be time to examine our priorities.

It could be football that we worship, or any number of things.  We do well to identify what our priorities are, and make sure that our devotion to the Lord is at the top of our priority list. When He is in first place, then our other activities flow from that.