Jesus > Football

Yesterday was a day of great celebration in our home.

We spent the morning at church and as soon as church ended, we headed home to wait.  To wait for the kick-off that would immediately heighten BOTH of our anxiety.

You see, I married a die-hard Seattle sports fanatic.  My husband loves the Mariners and the Seahawks.  There's just no getting around it.  So naturally, I have begun to adopt his love for his teams.  This week, I sewed him a Seahawks banner that is proudly displayed in our family room for everyone to see.  I planned a dinner that stays warm for a long time so that he could grab food when it was convenient depending on how the game was going.  I cuddled up on the couch next to my husband and did my best to help him breathe.  I love the game because I love my husband.

The Seahawks won.  The game was over.  And then the real battled started: Facebook.  Twitter.  Ugh.

I was so incredibly saddened by what I saw.  I still am.  I saw racial slurs being thrown left and right (Happy MLKJ Day, right?).  I saw cyber-punches being taken.  I saw people being reduced to "just" an electronic profile with every word said.  I felt sick.

Folks, I'm not perfect.  Don't claim to be.  Don't intend to be.  I fail every. single. day.  And there's grace abundant.  But let's not let grace be a license to sin.

I am appalled because for these 12 hours since the game, there has been no distinction between Christians and non-Christians on Facebook.  We all blend in; we look the same.  We look like Football is the end-all be-all.  We look like ref's calls matter more than people.  We look like OUR team is worth dying for.  We look like the legacies of Kaepernick and Wilson are more important that the reality of the God we say we worship.

Can I tell you something?  Jesus died for sinners and saints.  He died for Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson.  He died for Richard Sherman.  He died for the San Francisco 49ers and the Seahawks - equally.  He died for you and me.

And we, by the grace given to us, should be avenues for mercy and grace and humility to be shown to humanity.  We are the ones who are going to show the world that Jesus WINS.  He REIGNS.  He sits on his throne above and over all.  He came to redeem.  He came to seek and save the lost.  He came for them.  He came for the people who are unloved and unlovable.

Let's consider what we are teaching our children, our friends and our enemies based on our latest social media interactions.  What will people conclude by looking at our profiles?  This person loved their team or This person loved Jesus?

Maybe they can conclude both.  But the both is what's missing so many times.