Monday, November 18, 2019
679 - 'I Didn't Need That'
Spirituality Column #679
November 19, 2019
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
‘I Didn’t Need That’
By Bob Walters
“That’s life in the
NFL.” – character Sean Parker in the movie, The Social Network
Let’s talk
about the NFL last week, starting with … Sheesh.
My old mentor and minister Russ
Blowers was often heard to say, “God loves to see His kids play!” But that helmet-swinging, head-kicking,
beat-down, street-fight melee at the end of the Steelers-Browns game last
Thursday I’m sure doesn’t qualify.
Who needed that? I can’t possibly be the only person who
viewed replays of the carnage and thought all of the NFL was in desperate need
of either a deep, general soul-searching suspension of play, or at least a
serious come-to-Jesus reckoning.
For full disclosure, I’ve mostly
tuned out the NFL since the Colin Kaepernick protests. I was a sportswriter in
my career which included a brief turn as PR Director of the Colts when they
first moved to Indianapolis, so I completely “get” the grandness of high level
sports and human endeavor for excellence.
It’s such a great platform, and I believe Russ is right. God does indeed love to see His kids play.
And then the thug ethic of
unconstrained and unthinking criminal mayhem bursts into bloom. This destructive moment on national TV and
the ensuing, endless televised and social media replays sully the sport’s
grandeur into the gutter.
Yet … there are also NFL players
like Nick Foles. Remember him? He was the 2017 MVP quarterback for the Lombardi-Trophy-hoisting
Super Bowl LII champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Foles eloquently witnessed for Jesus Christ after the win. Not, “Jesus wanted us to win,” but “My
purpose in life is Jesus, not football.”
Foles started this NFL season in
Jacksonville with the Jaguars but broke his collarbone 10 plays into the first
game. Just last week he returned to
practice and in the interview afterwards a scribe asked him about coming back,
inquiring, “…I know you are a man of faith but you’re also human and didn’t you
ever have any doubts?”
Nick responded, beautifully: “No. Right when I felt this thing break and going
into the locker room I realized, ‘God, this isn’t exactly what I was thinking
when I came to Jacksonville.’ [But] at the end of the day if this is the
journey you want me to go on I’m going to glorify you in every action, good or
bad.” Now that is life in the NFL.
“You know, I still could have joy
in an injury,” he said. “People say ‘that’s crazy’ but when you believe in
Jesus, and go out there … it changes your heart. And you only understand it when that purpose
is in your life.” Talk about
“come-to-Jesus” reckoning.
Foles added, “Just like when I
hoisted the Lombardi Trophy [after the Super Bowl win] the reason I’m smiling
is [because] my faith was in Christ and at that moment I realized I didn’t need that trophy to define who
I was because I was already in Christ.
“That’s my message when I play; the
same thing happens when I get injured …
“My purpose isn’t football; my
purpose is impacting people, and my ministry is the locker room. … I’m a better
person than I was before because of the trial that I just went under. I know that’s a sermon in itself. [But] it’s not always about prosperity. I don’t believe in the prosperity
gospel. Read the Bible; there will be
trials along the way. …”
The reporter’s question, “You’re a
man of faith but you’re also human; didn’t you have doubts?” begs a subtle
point: did you ever notice that in Jesus … we doubt less?
Trophies? “I didn’t need that,” Foles said.
I’m sure God loves to see him play.
Walters
(rlwcom@aol.com) would rather see replays of Foles than the fight.
1 comments:
Thank you. Well said as always with wonderful insight. Again, Thank you, Bob.
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