Football and God

  Every Sunday is a little Easter, so today we have a joyful Psalm in praise of God and his mighty power.  "The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice," begins Psalm 97.  It ends with "Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name."
  In between, though, it's primarily about his awesomeness - his lightning lights up the world, clouds and thick darkness surround him, righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.  Even the mountains melt like wax before him.  
  Part of the Psalm, though, is about God's judgment.  Fire consumes his foes; those who worship idols are put to shame. This is where football comes in.  It's Super Bowl Sunday and how many people will worship at the throne of football for 4 or morel hours today?  How many of those same people spent 4 or more hours today worshiping God?  I'm not anti-football or relaxation.  Sunday is a day of rest and lots of people find football relaxing (although you probably couldn't prove it by their blood pressure readings). 
  Of course, football is not the only culprit in taking up large blocks of time.  Lots of things threaten to become idols in our lives - our jobs and money probably more so than anything else.  Social media may be the next big threat to spending time with God.  How much time do we devote each day to Facebook, Twitter, online games, emails, phone calls and texts?  How much of it could be curtailed so that we could spend more time reading Scripture or even doing something else good for us?  I admit that I don't find it easy to turn everything off and devote time to God, or exercise, or other things that are good for me.  But when I do, I am better for it.  I never regret it.
  A little motivation from Psalm 97:  Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.  Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.

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