Speaking Chief Principles

The Bible provides a blueprint for the way we should relate to God and to one another; if we live according to His guidance, directed by the Word and empowered by the Spirit of God, we will honor Him by our obedience. Before elaborating on the husband-wife relationship, Paul writes in Ephesians 5:
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

The Kansas City Chiefs have won two Super Bowls in a row.  And, according to a Sports Illustrated fan site: 

For the second straight season, former Georgia Tech kicker Harrison Butker was a key to the Kansas City Chiefs winning the Super Bowl.

It was quite the Super Bowl for Butker, who nailed four field goals, including the longest field goal in Super Bowl History. The former Yellow Jacket hit the field goal to send the game into overtime, where Patrick Mahomes would find Mecole Hardman for the game-winning touchdown.

The previous year, Butker had nailed the game-winning field goal over the Eagles. 

But, now there are elements of Chiefs Kingdom who want to boot Butker out of Kansas City.

The Washington Stand shared this:

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker delivered the commencement at the Catholic Benedictine College, encouraging young graduates to stand firm in their faith and live out authentic Christian virtues.

Now, the National Football League (NFL) is playing defense and condemning Butker’s speech as offensive. The NFL’s senior vice president and top diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) officer Jonathan Beane told media, “Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.” Others on the Left have been quick to blast Butker, especially for referring to homosexual acts and gender ideology as “deadly sins” and for encouraging women to be mothers and men to be fathers.

He stated, "... if we are going to be men and women for this time in history we need to stop pretending that the ‘Church of nice’ is a winning proposition. We must always speak and act in charity but never mistake charity for cowardice.”

He also called out a fellow professing Catholic who is President of the United States, criticizing his promotion of abortion, to the extent that he made the sign of the cross at a pro-abortion rally.  The Stand article also...

...noted the devastation wreaked by the response to COVID-19, blasting religious leaders for caving to excessive lockdown mandates, and declared that LGBT Pride Month is a celebration of “deadly sin.”

In addition to his outspoken words regarding abortion and so-called "gay pride," he offered words of exhortation to women and men in the audience.  To the women, he said:

“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you, how many of you are sitting here now about to cross the stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you’re going to get in your career.” He continued, “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world. But I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

He also said to the men: "This absence of men in the home is what plays a large role in the violence we see all around the nation.” The article notes that he said, "Be unapologetic in your masculinity. Fight against the cultural emasculation of men. Do hard things. Never settle for what is easy.”

His comments to the women were affirmed to rather influential member of the Chiefs organization: Tavia Hunt, wife of the owner, Clark Hunt. According to The Sporting News, quoting from an Instagram post, Tavia said: "I’ve always encouraged my daughters to be highly educated and chase their dreams. I want them to know that they can do whatever they want (that honors God). But I also want them to know that I believe finding a spouse who loves and honors you as or before himself and raising a family together is one of the greatest blessings this world has to offer. Studies show that committed, married couples with children are the happiest demographic, and this has been my experience as well."  Just a note, in a series of hashtags at the end of the post, there was one for #FocusOnTheFamily.

And, the Hunts' daughter, Gracie, while attending a pickleball outreach at First Baptist Church of Dallas, was interviewed on Fox News by Steve Doocy, and said, according to The Christian Post:

“I can only speak from my own experience, which is I had the most incredible mom who had the ability to stay home and be with us as kids growing up," Gracie Hunt said in response to a question from Doocy about Butker. "And I understand that there are many women out there who can’t make that decision. But for me in my life, I know it was really formative in shaping me and my siblings to be who we are."

"I really respect Harrison and his Christian faith and what he’s accomplished on and off the field," Hunt added.

While there is a petition drive now demanding the Chiefs release their star kicker, there has been backlash to the opposition.  The Washington Examiner reported:

The city of Kansas City’s X account has apologized and deleted a post that shared the location of the suburb where Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker lives after his commencement speech at a Catholic college sparked controversy on the political Left.

The article also reported:

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced he is “demanding accountability” for the Kansas City X account doxxing Butker. “I will enforce the Missouri Human Rights Act to ensure Missourians are not targeted for their free exercise of religion,” he said.

The Examiner also noted: "Many online were quick to point out that in the NFL, a league that features prominent figures accused of domestic violence, sexual misconduct, or, in the case of Butker’s Chiefs teammate Rashee Rice, endangering lives by recklessly driving at 119 miles per hour, resulting in a crash, there is not the same level of outrage as there is over Butker sharing his opinions."

Well, there's more - and probably will be more in the next few days.  But, in an age where the hierarchy of professional sports has adopted more "progressive" views, it is refreshing to see a Christian football player speaking Biblical truth.  Unfortunately, his league doesn't seem to honor his right to free speech.  But, I would expect Christian team owner Clark Hunt to hold fast to Butker's religious freedom.

It is clear that views that are based on Scripture are not popular in certain circles. People seem to be OK with vulgar language and loose living among their celebrities, but when a beloved football player offers a sharp, Biblically-informed contrasting view, they tuck and run - they will turn their backs. That's part of the terrain, though, as the Bible teaches us.  We have to make sure that we hold fast to our beliefs and not allow the popular culture to intimidate us and to mute our message.  But, it is disappointing and frustrating when people want to remove someone's livelihood just because He spoke truth in accordance with Scripture.