RSS

Category Archives: self-righteousness

On Christian Athletes Giving Glory to God

05 Feb

ben-hershey-417746After the incredible Super Bowl game Sunday night, we watched the presentation of the Lombardi trophy to the joyous Philadelphia Eagles. And then it happened – one after another, first the Head Coach, Doug Pederson, then the player making a clutch touchdown catch, Zach Ertz, and then finally the MVP quarterback, Nick Foles…all made mention of God in their acceptance of the accolades. From their Wikipedia articles, all three seem to be Christians.

“Bringing God” into a sports win irks a lot of people.

For instance, William Baker, author of Playing with God, says, “I don’t think it’s the right place and it’s not the right gesture. It’s an athlete using a moment to sell a product, like soap.”

I see what he’s saying, but in fact, I think that Mr. Baker is misunderstanding a truth about life and Christianity that the three sports heroes all seemed to understand on Sunday night.

Of course, I don’t know Pederson, Ertz, and Foles at all and therefore can’t speak for them, but if their thinking is anything like mine, they didn’t speak up because they felt God loved and helped them more than the Patriots. I imagine they are smart men and wouldn’t be so foolish. Surely there are many Patriot players who follow Christ also.

And it may be that the winning three were trying to “witness” for Christ, to “sell soap” as Baker might crassly put it; but I kind of doubt that too.

Instead, on Sunday night, Pederson, Ertz and Foles spoke up because they realized the great truth of the universe: that everything is about God…and His Son Jesus Christ. Everything. Indeed, all of human existence revolves around Christ.

The Apostle Paul wrote,

(Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Colossians 1:15-17 (ESV)

Christians know that “all things were created…for him”. Therefore, he is the purpose and center of everything. And more than that, “in him all things hold together”, even frail football players.

So in their moment of victory, I doubt the three Eagles were imagining God a Philadelphia fan. And I doubt they were thinking that their testimony would cause the world to fall on its knees.

They were simply remembering that day is coming. And they were themselves…kneeling a little early…

…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:10, 11 (ESV)

 

 

 
7 Comments

Posted by on February 5, 2018 in Glorifying God, sports, football, Uncategorized

 

The Absurdity of Looking Down on Others

19 Jan

To be self-righteous…is to be a fool.

Think about the sad story of Abram, Sarai, and Hagar in Genesis 16. Sarai is unable to conceive a child with Abram; and so she, in a move we can’t imagine a wife making in our culture, offers him her maidservant Hagar as a surrogate. Now mind you, there was no artificial insemination in that day; so, contributing to the brokenness, Abram and Hagar would have needed to spend a little time in the tent alone. And Scripture tells us that Hagar conceived, but that’s not all…

…And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. Genesis 16:4 (ESV)

Let’s get this straight, Hagar now is looking down on Sarai, in effect saying, “I’m better than you because I got pregnant and you didn’t.” This is a perfect illustration of how being self-righteous makes you a knucklehead. After all, what did Hagar do to consider herself better than Sarai? Answer: she did nothing, and yet still considered herself superior.

You say, perhaps, “Well, my situation is different than Hagar, because there are certain things that I actually do to show myself more on top of my game than others.” For instance…

  • You worked hard and climbed the corporate ladder.
  • Your skills on the piano have come after thousands of hours of practice. You can’t help but feel a little superior toward the slackers who gave up after two lessons in the 6th grade.
  • You got into a top-tier college with a full-ride scholarship.
  • You’re crazy good at all kinds of sports; you have the most coordinated eye and hand in the city.
  • Your kids are doing great academically and spiritually. Your wisdom in parenting shows through in everything they do.

Are you actually different than Hagar who clearly did nothing to warrant her self-righteousness and contempt toward Sarai? Consider what the Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthians…

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (1Co 4:7 ESV)

Our self-righteousness is always foolish because like Hagar, we cannot take credit for anything we have. You worked hard to become a virtuoso on the piano? Who gave you the self-discipline to do that? Or, better yet, who put you in the particular home you grew up in with parents who would instill such a work ethic? Someone without your skills was born in the slums of Calcutta; are you really better than she is? Or did your cunning enable you to climb up the ladder of success in the marketplace? Well, where did all that brainpower come from? You get the idea.

In the end, we all tend toward self-righteousness because we have a hunger for glory. We’ve had a need to feel special and worthy of honor ever since our first parents lost their original glory in the glorious Garden. We have a sense that we’re missing something, and we long to have it back. Hence comes self-righteousness and racism and bullying and a hundred other ills.

What is the ultimate answer? We will find our lost honor and glory when we look to the cross of Christ where the love of God for us was put on full display (Romans 5:8). Then our glory hunger will be satiated. Then we can look, not with contempt, but only with love toward those around us, no matter their station or ours.

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ… Galatians 6:14 (ESV)

 
4 Comments

Posted by on January 19, 2016 in self-righteousness, Uncategorized

 

Tags: , , ,

 
%d bloggers like this: