MENC

Gridiron Conquistadors And Potato Chips

The summer months are winding down, “tax-free” shopping has already passed, and your wife spent lots of money on the children’s school clothes. It may still be hot as blue blazes here in Central Florida, but the stadium grass is green and well watered, young men are suiting up in helmets and pads, and the sounds of football are starting to reverberate on the fields. Oh, what a glorious time of the year for the football aficionado! Think about it, men: Games on TV, fantasy football online, season tickets, stadium smells and sounds, high-caloric food and beverages galore (after all, you can’t just have one!). I think that if I tried, I could find a football game to watch almost around the clock.

But that is the problem. As much as I might want to grant my deep understanding and insight to those gridiron conquistadores or the men wearing black and white stripes running back and forth blowing whistles, my family protests!

Are you going to sit around and watch football all day? Don’t you think you should ______ (you can fill in the blank with any task)? When was the last time you and I went somewhere that you were not consumed with the game time? Sometimes the dissent to your football obsession is more subtle, like the banging of doors and the loud clanging of pots and pans (after all, your wife is cleaning up from the last tailgate party at the house while you watch another game). Then there is the not-sosubtle, but ever-so-caustic hairy eyeball glare!

Gentlemen, perhaps it is time for us to own up to the fact we can be a little overcommitted to our passion for the pigskin. There is an outside chance your wife and family may feel like that little girl on the coinoperated riding toy in the mall. Her brother turned to her and said, “If one of us would get off, there would be more room for me!” As hard as it is for us to understand, it simply may be that your family feels the neglect of becoming football widows and orphans. It is so easy to be selfish with our time and attention as we obsess over watching two teams compete to drive a football down the field and score. We find ourselves actually more valuable to us are

I could offer you a list of 10 need more than just a checklist of things to try. At the core, we ha n make us happy and the things at som . self-centered nature of from our pastime. Actually, the truth of the matter was pointed out long before football was ever invented. John Calvin once said, “Our hearts are idol-making factories.” He was addressing the sinful nature of the human heart and how we turn good things into false gods, worshipping them instead of keeping them in their proper place in life. Instead of giving you “10 Commandments for Healthy Football Watching,” I want to encourage you to think about how the good thing that football represents can sometimes cus all of our attention. When lationships ould be done are neglected, eating all that great tailgating

Relationships that are important food! As you plan your footballkeep in mind you can easily be consumed by the competition for the Vince Lombardi Trophy and miss out on the most important things in life: a connection with God, healthy family relationships, and the joys of day-to-day life.

RICHARD BURGUET, B.A., M-Div., has been ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America for more than 30 years. He has served churches in South Carolina, Mississippi, Maryland, and Georgia. Richard is pastor of New Hope Presbyterian in Eustis and is co-author of Covenants Disciples Workbook. New Hope is at 19535 Eustis Airport Road and on the web at www. newhopepca.com.