Saturday, December 28, 2013

Bowl Game Observation




Watching the rather rancid crop of bowl games to this point has spurred something of a thought. Consider the following, which is played at the beginning of every LSU home game on their jumbotron:

It is a pantheon of concrete and steel 
It is a city that rises defiantly in the delta alongside the father of waters 
It is the humidity of autumn evenings that drapes stately oaks and broad magnolias 
It is haunted ... and it is loud. 
It is Halloween night & Cannon blasts 
It is a Louisiana gumbo of humanity that cheers its Tigers to victory and destroys the dreams of invading foes 
Chance of rain is ... never! 
It is the cathedral of college football and worship happens here 
When the sun finds its home in the western sky it is a field of glory for sure... 
But much more than that it is a sacred place 
And it is Saturday night in Death Valley.

Very poetic, yes?

Notice the terminology, though, especially the bit about worship happening in a sacred place that is compared to a cathedral.

I submit that these lines encapsulate pretty much everything that is wrong with our diseased society. It isn't something particular to LSU. This bowl season has brought us a bevy of atrocious games. This hasn't stopped thousands of people from spending millions of dollars or traveling thousands of miles for the "pleasure" of a few hours of bad football. Many would call themselves "rabid" in their zeal for doing so. Their attention is utterly consumed in all details and aspects of even the worst game possible. They will nitpick over the smallest of minutiae and decry anything that encroaches upon the dignity of the sport.

And how does the worship of God compare to this?

Do the people even go to worship God? Do they worship Him in the form and fashion that He wills or do they make up their own methods? Is the form of worship given the same level of priority or the same demands of excellence and perfection? Do people even financially support the Church providing them the opportunity for worship?

And so on and so forth. Of course, this just pertains to the Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, Redeemer of the Human Race, and Sanctifier of Souls. It's not like it's something important, like, say, the conference championship.

Of course, I'm sure most of these people will be happy to tell you that they value their relationship with Christ far more than whatever their team affiliation might be. But what does their behavior indicate? What consumes more resources? What activity sets their schedule and demands the acquiescence of their time?

Thesis: A culture that places the entertainment of the masses on a level higher than the worship of God deserves to be destroyed.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Amen. Spot on observation, sad to say.