Let’s Play a Game

Let’s play a game.  Here’s the game.  You tell me if this is a verse from the Bible or a quote from a newspaper.

The next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offeings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

Hopefully that was not hard to figure out.  I think if you wanted to, you could easily fit that into the sports section of a newspaper somewhere.  It could make total sense.  It sounds just like a giant tailgating party.  Honestly, listen to the wording here: Burnt offerings… That’s what men are cooking over some greasy grill they strapped to the back of their truck.  Peace offerings are the contents of your cooler that are given to those parked next to you who have the opposing teams jersey on.  Sitting down to eat and drink, well, I don’t need to explain that one.  Rising up to play happens in every major football stadium parking lot almost every week of the season.

Simple game huh?  Did you guess right?  Well, let’s go one step further… where is that quote from?

Here’s the problem.  The game that was on last night, and the game that we just played are not the only games being played.  I wonder if you and I play games more than we think we do.  I wanted to write a big ‘schpeel’ about ‘who received more worship yesterday’ but I was afraid that in asking that question I would not fairly address the issue.  I wanted to write some catchy lines about “tonight being a good good night”, and about Christina’s remix of the national anthem.  See, for me I don’t care who wins or looses that game.  In fact I don’t care enough about sports to get upset over the winner or loser of any game.  Before you go calling me a nerd for not liking sports hear me out: I LIKE SPORTS, I LIKE PLAYING SPORTS.  However, I’m not a phanatic.   I know a lot of people that love sports.  They’re good people!  So, to keep from being hypocritical and to put myself on the scales as well, it can’t be a question about who recieved more worship yesterday.  The question should be who or what received more worship today.  What about two days ago?  What about a week ago?  What does your worship forecast for tomorrow look like?

Let’s get back to the game.  Each one of us can easily become players in this game.  The game is called, choose your own God and worship it.  The super bowl is only the thing that caught my attention and made me think about it.  But, it is not limited to football.  Football may be your game.  Yet, for others your game is creating a fiscal empire where you reign.  Some people’s game is to please people no matter what the cost is.  Others game is to win the love of that man or woman.  Some of you your game requires premium gas and has five speeds.

I don’t know what your version of the game is.  I do know that the rules are universal for this game.

Rule #1: “You shall have no other God’s before Me.” ~Exodus 20:3

Rule #2: “You shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”  ~Exodus 34:14

For some help on what this may look like check out Romans 11:33-36 through 12:2.

Whew.  I’ll tell you what, I was getting ready to roast some sports fanatics on here(in love of course) and I’ve ended up roasting myself.

How about you?  Have you set any one or thing before God?  How do you keep yourself from breaking the rules?

~A Game Player