Super Bowl Religion

Each year it seems the Super Bowl gets bigger.  It has become more of an event than a football game.  And not just in Miami or whatever city it is played in.  There is a Super Bowl party in every tenth household. For many people, this is the only football game they watch all year.  Except that they aren’t really watching the game. Mostly, people are catching up with old friends or making new ones. Perhaps the only time they bother to look at the TV is for the commercials and the halftime show.  More than a football game, it’s a chance to make the weekend last one more night.

I recognize that a life of faith can deteriorate into a Super Bowl Sunday.  Instead of making a relationship with Christ the main thing, we can get caught up in the fellowship, the music, or the positive environment.  In a free society like ours, there is a lot of icing on the cake of faith. We are free to enjoy the fringe benefits. But we must never mistake the commercials for the game.  The best parts of religion can never replace the best part - the new life we have in Jesus and the abiding relationship we have with him.