Football, American Style

The last two days have seen me at high school and college football games, with others on television in the background wherever I go. Autumn must be here; it's time for football.
In some ways, I'm glad that it is this time of year. There's some exciting, even festive, about a game of American football. Each game is an event, and the fans in attendance get excited (sometimes too excited) about what happens on the field. The atmosphere at the K-State/UMass game yesterday, for instance, was so electric at the start that it reminded of the times I would attend the KSU/ISU game with my family. Ah, the happy, care-free days of college. At the same time, I do find it odd that people (myself included) sometimes get so worked up about a game. In reality, it doesn't matter even from year-to-year who won what game when. Certainly in 50 or 100 years, it's not going to matter at all. The challenge, of course, is keeping games in proper perspective. For me, knowing that there is an eternity with Christ ahead, I at least have some hope of keeping a football game (or a soccer game) in perspective. That's not to say that I don't forget myself or get caught up in the moment. Such reactions, however, are not the kind I desire. What I want is to be in the middle ground: not so indifferent to the game that I can't enjoy it, yet not so caught up in it that I behave in a way that dishonors the Lord. It's a long season, and I'll have plenty of chances to practice between high school soccer and football, KSU football, and Iowa State football. (The Chiefs don't count. We know that they're going to lose most of their games this year.) Hopefully, I can find the middle ground, and enjoy a few games in the process. May God grant me (and all of us) the mercy to do just that, keeping these temporary pastimes in perspective.