I
was born and bred a Gamecock fan. My dad grew up in Olympia and we could see
Williams Brice Stadium from my grandma’s front porch. Being a Gamecock has been
a humbling experience most of my life. As a matter of fact I tease my Clemson
Tiger pastor friends that Gamecocks make better pastors, because we understand
what humility and long-suffering are all about.
Not
only am I a Gamecock fan, but I also very competitive. Competition is not bad if it helps motivate
you to do your best in achieving a goal. But a competitive spirit really does
nothing in terms of being a fan. My competitive spirit is not going to help the
Gamecocks win more games. As a matter of fact, applying a competitive spirit to
things you can’t control, like college athletics, is not only fruitless it can
bring major frustration that bleeds in to other areas of your life.
Another
fact to consider is that college athletics are never going to fully satisfy. When
the Gamecocks win, it feels good…for a little bit. And when the Gamecocks lose
it feels bad… again just for a little bit. The feelings associated with a win
or the loss never has any longevity. So why should I invest so much emotional
energy in something that does not ultimately satisfy? I am not saying don’t be
a fan and enjoy college athletics. Just don’t let being a fan have a position
of influence that compromises your relationship with Jesus.
Matt
Chandler in his book “Creature of the Word” explains how nothing in this
temporal world is going to ultimately satisfy the deepest yearnings of the
soul. Chandler says, "We sit here in our modern-day world demanding
that the activities of the moment satisfy us and give us meaning. We order them
to meet the yearning lack of significance and purpose that aches in our hearts..."
Nothing
in this temporal world can satisfy our heart that longs for the eternal. Solomon even goes as far as to say, “Everything
is meaningless” in Ecclesiastes 1:2. Solomon, the wisest man ever, besides Jesus,
goes on to expound in the next two chapters how wisdom, folly, pleasure, and
work in and of itself does not satisfy our soul that craves the eternal.
Jesus,
on the other hand says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I
came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” John 10:10. The thief tempts us with the temporal. However,
investing in the temporal steals joy, kills relationships and can destroy real
meaning in life. Jesus comes that we may have full life in Him. Only Jesus can
make your life make sense. Only Jesus can bring abundance in life. Only Jesus can
provide the only way to enjoy a real and vibrant relationship with God. Jesus also
said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father
but through Me” John 14:6.
We
can still enjoy the things of this world, like college athletics, just as long
as we understand that these things can’t fulfill the deepest longest of our
heart. I am looking forward to the final College Football Playoff game tonight.
I am sure it will be a fun and entertaining game. And maybe it is easy for me
to say that since my team won’t be playing and I am not emotionally invested.
But even if my Gamecocks were playing for the championship and by some miracle
they won (Don’t laugh, it could happen one year, ha!), it would not fulfill me
like Jesus does.
