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The Pastoral Lens

With Pastor Brian Horrobin of First Baptist Church, Wallaceburg

I Picked a Sermon Over the Superbowl

Tuesday, January 28, 2003

I love football. I grew up in Windsor following the Detroit Lions, but later, under the influence of Ohio relatives, switched my affections to the Cleveland Browns, and have been a fan of theirs ever since. I have a twin brother who loves football, too. Together we feasted on a steady diet of Sunday afternoon gridiron action through our elementary and high school years, with each exciting weekend leading up to the holy grail of all pigskin action: Monday Night Football.
In fact, we never missed a game in 5 years of high school (believe me, I have the mediocre grades to prove it!). Eventually, I got a job as a busboy, and later as a waiter, in a fine-dining restaurant where working the Superbowl was unavoidable. In addition to a busy restaurant on "super Sunday" we also had our busiest take-out day of the year. Nevertheless, I somehow was able each year to broker a deal with my manager to be able to work AND watch the game, as well. I always seemed to get scheduled for the dining room with the big-screen tv. I may have carried a 55 in calculus, but I had the latest NFL stats memorized.
But, this past Sunday, I passed up the Superbowl for – a sermon. Yep, it's true, I went to church and missed every minute of the January classic. No, I didn't take a leave of my senses, and no, I didn't have a row with my wife over who would have dibs on the remote control. Oh yeah, and I didn't hurry home after the service to watch the fourth quarter, either. I simply wasn't interested. I watched some games here and there during the regular season on Monday Night, and even felt the match-up in this year's Superbowl had all the makings of a great game, yet my fires were burning elsewhere. I have been impacted recently by a couple of deaths. One was for a young man only 20 years old (see last week's column) and one was for my mother-in-law. Each death brought with it a different shade of reality. In each of these situations I saw the role of family move to the forefront. My faith is in Jesus Christ, not family, but my faith plays itself out in the context of family much of the time.
I have been married for12 wonderful years and the Lord has given me 5 precious children. I have to ask myself: Do I want to leave a legacy of football passion or family commitment? Is the most important thing for my children to know is that their dad loved the Superbowl or that he loved a super God? I heard a great sermon on thankfulness Sunday night while Tampa Bay was beating up on Oakland in the Superbowl. The stats from Sunday's game will linger for a week, but the message from God's Word will last a lot longer.
This year I traded my Monday morning heartburn for a heart burning with thankfulness for the great Lord I serve and the wonderful family He's given me. How about you? Have you taken an inventory of your priorities lately? It might be a great way to balance life's time budget. Have a great week!