Does God care who wins the Super Deflata-Bowl?

I always look forward to Super Bowl Sunday.  I love football and a part of me will be sad when the game is over and the season has ended.  Admittedly, it is a smaller part of me this year.  I’m still upset about the call on Dez Bryant that ended the Cowboys’ season.  It was a catch and the Cowboys should have played Seattle instead of Green Bay.  I wish the Cowboys were going to be playing the Patriots this Sunday.  But, it is time to move on and cheer for a Super Bowl 2015 team.  Everything I read tells me the Patriots are expected to win.  I’ll be cheering for Seattle.  

I wonder if we will ever know the truth about the deflated footballs from the game that sent the Patriots to this year’s Super Bowl.  Granted, they won by a landslide but that doesn’t mean they deserved to win, if they cheated.  Apparently Tom Brady is going to address the media on the subject – AFTER this Sunday’s big game.

Huffington Post ran an article titled 1 in 4 Americans believe that God will decide who wins the Super Bowl.  The article reports, “Twenty-six percent of Americans and 27 percent of self-described sports fans believe God plays a role in determining which team will win a sporting event. Even more — 53 percent of Americans and 56 percent of sports fans — say God rewards faithful athletes with good health and success.”  If that is the case, does Tom Brady stand a chance?  If he deflated the footballs, or knew the footballs had been deflated, should his sin impact the rest of his team?  If God rewards faithful athletes, does that means he disciplines the unfaithful?  I’m pretty sure I know the answer to that one – but I won’t name names.

If God decides who will win the Super Bowl, is he also involved with who wins for the best commercials?  I read an article about the commercials we will see this year.  A thirty-second ad will cost $4.5 million, $500,000 more than last year.  No deflation there!  The car companies will be absent this year.  Remember the Volkswagon Darth Vader commercial from 2011?  It won my vote.  Victoria’s Secret has an ad, but the ladies are fully clothed this year.  Apparently there was some backlash from women who like to enjoy the game with their children in the room.  Carl’s Jr. has an ad this year, which thankfully will only air on the West Coast.  West Coast moms: be ready to change the channel!  A very scantily dressed woman will eat a hamburger during this ad.  There will also be ads that are supposedly intended to help the deflated image of the NFL.  This year’s headlines about domestic violence and the NFL’s response were reported in the national news broadcasts.  If God is involved in Super Bowl Sunday I think we can expect the cable companies to experience technical difficulties during many of the commercial breaks.  The West Coast may have a sweeping blackout during the Carl’s Jr. ad!

The Huffington Post article said, “Super Bowl excitement aside, 25 percent of Americans say that on any given Sunday they are more likely to be in church than watching football. The same amount say they manage to do both, while 32 percent have other plans entirely.”  God’s opinion of Sunday is one thing I am sure of.  God gave us a Sabbath as a day of rest.  God designed the Sabbath to be the day each week we focused on him, his word and his will for our lives.

Do I think God cares which team wins the Super Bowl?  In all honesty, my answer would be no.  On the other hand, I do think God cares what I will do this Sunday.  I do think God cares that we are good representatives of his character this Sunday.  Will there be deflated footballs this week?  Not a chance.  Will there be good commercials and bad ones?  Every chance.  Will it be the focus of conversation in church Sunday morning and at work on Monday?  Most likely.  

What will you say to your family and friends about the controversies surrounding football these days?    One verse comes to mind . . .

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4).

The Super Bowl is a big deal in this country, and has provided a lot of opportunity to discuss topics like cheating, honesty, character and priorities with our family and friends.  God is interested in those aspects of the game.  The Bible says that Christ will return at a time when we do not expect him.  What if that time is this Sunday, during the half-time show?  Could it be that God will care about this game after all?

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