Football season!

Ah, football season.  The time of year men wait all spring and summer for and women dread because they lose their husbands until February.  Or maybe women are excited for that very reason.  Whatever.  Here are my thoughts on the goings on of various football related topics of late:

New Orleans Saints

3-0!!  What a way to start the season!  This is much better than last year's start, which I won't even talk about in depth, because who wants to relive that?  Coach Payton is back, which has relit a fire under the Saints.  New Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan has completely turned around the defense.  I think it's his hair.  He's a modern-day Samson.

Plus, I think he hides a 12th defender under his shirt who jumps out, swats the ball away, then runs back to his XXXL safe haven.

To start things off, the Saints beat the scourge of the NFL, the ingrown toenail on the foot of football, the despicable Atlanta Failcons.  I don't like them.  At all.  General Sherman missed the Georgia Dome on his march through Atlanta.  Can he get a redo?

Could've had a V8.  Not that it would help the fact that you're a Falcon.

 I don't want to start talking Super Bowl just yet, but I'm a fan, so I have to.  Super Bowl, here we come!

Miami Dolphins

 3-0!!  How long has it been since my two favorite teams have started 3-0?  No, really.  How long?  I'm too lazy to research it.  Point is, I like it. 

I was excited when they drafted Ryan Tannehill last year.  I enjoyed watching him at Texas A&M and enjoyed even more watching him grow as his first NFL season went on.  He's looked pretty solid so far this season.

Wait, I didn't know you could red shirt NFL players..

This upcoming Monday night, the Dolphins travel to New Orleans to face the Saints.  Though they are my two favorite teams, I bleed black and gold, so I'm obviously pulling for the Saints.  I just hope the Saints' victory doesn't derail what the Dolphins have going so far.

College Football

I haven't watched too much college ball this season;  I've had to play music pretty much every Saturday.  From what I can tell, though, Mississippi State sucks about as much as normal (which sucks).  Ole Miss actually looks pretty good and they get their first real test against Alabama this weekend, which I will miss because I have to play music.  Apparently, Alabama may not be quite up to their usual standards this season.  Their normally stingy defense gave up 628 yards to Johnny Manziel.

The real Johnny Football

 My lack of time to watch college football has not allowed me to get as excited about it as I usually am.  Oh, well.  There are many weeks left for me to catch some games.

Fantasy Football

For years, I've been resisting fantasy football.  I thought it would take up too much time and it wouldn't be that fun, anyway.  I was wrong.  Even as I'm typing this, I have my fantasy league opened up in a different tab, making some adjustments to my lineup for this weekend's games.

People have told me that it completely changes the football viewing experiencing, making you care about games that you would otherwise not watch.  That is true.  It also causes much frustration during those games, such as Sunday night when Roethlisberger kept throwing the ball to Antonio Brown (who was on the team that mine was going up against) instead of Emmanuel Sanders (who is on my team).

Here is my team: QB - Drew Brees, Eli Manning; WR - Danny Amendola, Jordy Nelson, Emmanuel Sanders, Golden Tate, Torrey Smith; RB - Reggie Bush, Darren Sproles, Ben Tate, Le'Veon Bell; TE - Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates; Kicker - Garrett Hartley; Defense - Denver.

I think next season I'm gonna join another league or two.  Lots of fun.

Which brings us to...

So far it's been the trend in this blog for me to lay out in the open things that are convicting me, so here we go again.

Why in the world do so many Christians (myself included, oh so much) get so fired up about something as meaningless as football but fail to engage in even one conversation a week about Christ?  There's some kind of disconnect between what our priorities should be and what they actually are.

Am I saying it's wrong to enjoy football season?  No, I don't think it's wrong.  I just think we need to be really careful about what our focus is on.  Colossians 3:2 says, "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."  It's really easy for me to get carried away with all the excitement of my two favorite teams being undefeated and lose sight of what matters.

So I'm asking that you pray for me that I can keep my focus on things above and I'll do the same for you.

Who dat!

The Least of These

³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’  (Matthew 25:34-40, English Standard Version)
  
Those are some challenging words from Jesus.  He is calling us to a life of service and of love.  Sure, most of us try to be nice to everyone (hopefully), but what does it mean to truly serve and to love?  What does it look like for us to really reach out to "the least of these?"  Who exactly is "the least of these?"  Here's the song "Under Bridges" by Brave Saint Saturn, which I think paints an excellent picture of what Jesus meant in the above passage.

 The language in this song may be shocking, but I think it needs to be.  We need to be reminded that the homeless, the junkie, the alcoholic are all created in the image of God.  

I'm writing this to myself probably moreso than to anyone else reading.  Why is it so hard for us to get out of our comfort zones and talk to someone who doesn't look like us or live like us?  Shouldn't the gospel be important enough to share to everyone?  Shouldn't we care about the souls of everyone, regardless of their situation or lot in life?  Who is the "least of these?"  It is the homeless man begging for change outside of the gas station; the junkie jonesing for another shot of heroin; the alcoholic who beats his wife and children; the teenager struggling with his sexuality and worried about becoming an outcast to his own family; the church leader addicted to pornography; the soccer mom addicted to gambling.

We are not called to keep Jesus to ourselves.  Jesus in Matthew 28:19 tells us to make disciples off all nations, not just the people who look like us or dress like us or like the things we like.  Again, I think this is more for me than anyone else.  I need to be more bold with my faith.  I need to see others as Jesus would see them, not as I do.  I need to be reminded everyday that each person has a soul that is either bound for heaven or for hell.  Jesus made it my responsibility to let people know that they don't have to spend eternity in hell, that Jesus loves them and wants to have a relationship with them.  Why don't I do that?