Football season is almost upon us!

I have grown less fond of football over the years; like many other things it is entertaining on the surface but with this latest lockout/union bargaining I am sadly reminded that the sport is really more about money these days than anything else. Teams with money buy better players or use "unsavory means" to win, while smaller cities with less money remain honest but really just fodder to beef up the stats of the better. There was a time that on "any given Sunday" any team could beat any other, which no longer seems to be true. And players play for money, not fans. Sigh.

But football and most other sports do have at their root something admirable and observable of course. They are team sports. While one player often stands out, even the best player that ever lived would be a loser without the support and help of a lot of other people. Because of this, I have heard many lessons preached using such team sports as good analogies for Christianity.

It is easy to recall lessons the Lord gave about one who was lost. The lady that loses a coin sweeps her house top to bottom to find that one coin. The ninety and nine were left behind as the good shepherd went to find that one sheep that was lost. Obviously to God we ALL have value, every last one of us, and we should be mindful of that when we look at someone and think they have no value, or that they are "too evil". The gospel call is for all mankind, not just those who we would consider worthy, or able to fit the mold. The whole team is needed.

There are lessons about how some are preachers, some are teachers, etc. These lessons remind us that there is a center to hike the ball to that star quarterback. There are guards and tackles to protect him. A running back to draw attention away from him. Receivers to catch the ball and score the points. They give a lot of credit to that star player, but a host of "lesser knowns" make or break him. Just as today often one who reflects righteousness particularly well was given their opportunity by the elders, their guidance from parents and teachers, and perhaps even monetary or other types of support from the rest of us. I would be leery anyway in allowing myself to be considered a "star" - there are these things called sincerity, humility, and servitude we out to be looking at instead. A jerk player may be the best there ever was but without the team you would never know...

And speaking of jerk players. I knew a boy once in high school who at the end of the class day rode his bike back from school. In the time between getting home and having to show up later at the stadium for the trip to an away game with the rest of the team he decided to take a nap, and overslept. Finding himself hopelessly late, he grabbed his stuff and ran out the door only to discover the school bus with the rest of his team waiting for him in front of his house!!! As he got on the bus, sheepish expression on his face, in unison the team proclaimed "Must be nice, Crihfield!" I can't imagine who that might have been, could you? Someone unworthy, I am sure!

It is great when a player remembers he is part of a team, and that he needs the team to be a success. It's also great when the team overlooks the player's attitude (or plain old mistakes) and embraces him anyway. Usually we end up calling that team, those people, winners. Know what I mean?

Randy