Does God Care About Fantasy Football?

Ok, I'll admit it...

I have a minor addiction to fantasy football.

For those who do not know what fantasy football is or how it works, let me break it down for you real quick. Thousands of groups of football fanatics gather together and form leagues. Then in August they sit down at their computers and draft real NFL players onto their fantasy football teams. Once the NFL season begins, each fanatic competes in a head-to-head competition with another fanatic to see who can score the most points and win the match-up. Points are accumulated based on how the players on your fantasy team perform in real life. Depending on how well each player does in his game determines how many fantasy points he gets you. For example, if 25 passing yards equal 1 point and every passing touchdown equals 4 points, then if the quarterback on your fantasy team throws for 100 yards and 1 touchdown in real life then he gives you 8 points (4 for the 100 yds and 4 for the TD) in your fantasy match up. The whole game is based on real life. Here's the hard part though, you only get to start a certain number of players each week and you have more players on your team than you can start. Any players you don't start have to sit on your bench and any points they score don't go towards you total. So if you have two quarterbacks on your team, you only get points for the quarterback you start each week, the one on your bench earns you nothing even if he scores more points than the quarterback you start. This is the real strategy of the game, knowing who to start and who to sit each week. It's also what drives fantasy addicts to the brink of insanity. Anyways, that's the gist of it. In reality, the only "fantasy" aspect of the game is that the players you draft for your team are not actually on the same team in real life.

And for what its worth, I don't care for the title "Fantasy Football." It makes me think of games played behind a computer screen in imaginary worlds that slowly waste away your ability to socially interact in the real world (Insert World of Warcraft joke here). Fantasy football is not that, but it can be just as  addicting. I think a title like "Stat Addict Football" would be more fitting, but alas, that is not an alliteration nor is it nearly as catchy as "Fantasy Football."

But I digress...

Let me share with you the event that led me to write this post. It was week 5 of the NFL regular season and I was a woeful 0-3-1 in my fantasy football league. I was nearly ready to give up on the season, but had not quite yet reached the point where I could lose interest in something I typically love simply because I was doing terrible (as has happened to me me with guitar, basketball, rapping, and many other ventures), so I pressed on for a win. Along with my pitiful record and sinking self-worth, I was also facing a very important decision that could make or break my future. I had two quarterbacks and was unsure which one to start! I looked at their completion percentages, the opponents they had faced, the quality of the receivers they were throwing to, and much more. Even after all my in depth research I could find nothing that made one stand out from the other. To make matters worse, I was also preparing to teach a Sunday School lesson at the church I work for and found this fantasy football dilemma very distracting to my concentration!

I know, I know, I must be a terrible person to let something as inconsequential as fantasy football prevent me from being able to concentrate on my much more important Sunday school lesson...but I'm trying to be real here, so welcome to my life.

Now back to the story...

As these two issues grappled for control of my mind, I began to feel very convicted.
(See, I do have a moral compass!)

In the midst of this conviction though, a strange thought entered my mind. I asked myself, "Marlin, why don't you just pray about which quarterback to start?" The moment this thought crept out I immediately shrugged it off as madness. I said to myself, "God doesn't care about my fantasy football team, and besides, asking for Him to reveal which quarterback to start would be wrong, wouldn't it?"

This was such a trivial matter that asking someone like God to help me out with it seemed like being best friends with Michael Jordan and asking him to teach me how to play gin rummy instead of how to improve my jump shot (although I don't think even Michal Jordan, himself, could help me out there).

Of course I would ask God for help if something terrible happened to me or someone I love, but something as simple as fantasy football just seemed out of his realm of interest. I mean, there are lots of people going through very difficult situations, they should take priority over fantasy football, right? Wouldn't it just be a waste of God's time?

But no matter what I told myself, I could not get the idea out of my head. So you know what? I did it. I gave in. I bowed my head and asked God for wisdom on which quarterback to start. After my prayer, I looked at my roster, chose one, and immediately felt at peace about the entire situation. From that point on I was able to concentrate fully on my Sunday School lesson without any distractions.

So Sunday morning came around, I taught my lesson, went to the service, and came home ready to revel in some fantasy goodness...And guess what happened!?

The quarterback I started scored more points that the quarterback I benched!

Turns out God really might care about fantasy football after all...

But I still lost my match-up, bringing me to an 0-4-1 record and making me the only winless team in my league.

Turns out God also wanted to humble me and keep the idol of fantasy football success at a distance...Oh well, you can't win 'em all.

But this interaction with God did get me thinking. I began to wonder why I thought it would be so wrong to pray to Him about fantasy football. Was it because fantasy football is fun and I do not think God wants me to have fun? Was it because I didn't think God cared about it? Did I not believe He had anything to do with it?

In the end all these questions led me to the heart of the issue, I had separated God from other areas of my life. In my mind I had compartmentalized Him, and the realm of fantasy football had nothing to do with the realm of God. The two coming into contact never even crossed my mind. That is why it seemed so strange to even consider praying about it.

And that was my great sin.

Does God not care about the little things in life? Should I try to separate Him from other parts of the world, creating the secular realm where God is absent and the spiritual realm where God is present?

I believe the answer to this question is an emphatic "No!"

There is no way we can read about God's sovereignty and believe he is not intimately involved in every aspect of our lives.

Psalm 115:3 - Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases

Proverbs 16:33 - The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord

Ephesians 1:11 - In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will

All Bible believing Christians will read these verses and think to themselves, "Yes, these are true, God is indeed involved in and controlling everything."

Yet we do not live as if this were true.

There is a disconnect between what we say we believe and how we act.

It's ok to admit it, we often do this without even realizing it.

So who is the culprit behind all this? Well, it's everyone who has bought into the belief that there is a disparity between the spiritual and the secular, myself included. This is the heart of the problem.

We divide our lives. On Sunday morning, Sunday nights, and Wednesday mornings (if you are extra spiritual) we go to church, experience a service/Bible study/prayer meeting and leave believing that our spiritual needs bar has been filled for the week and will last us until the next service. From there we go back into our secular lives and do secular things in secular ways, hardly paying any attention to what God might think of our desires, actions, and motives. We believe we've already done our time for Him on Sunday, the rest of the week is for us!

And why wouldn't we think this way, everything in our society encourages it. We are taught from a young age that there must be a distinction between the secular and spiritual. Separation of church and state proclaims that there is no room for spirituality in the sphere of education. Science is portrayed as God's arch nemesis, as if God and science are opposed to one another and cannot coexist.

Spirituality is relegated to one particular realm of society, entertainment. Sunday morning services are judged primarily on how entertaining the music and sermon are. Now there is nothing inherently wrong with a talented music team or a well-delivered sermon, but when we think of Church only according to these standards we begin to equate Church with other forms of entertainment such as movies, novels, and music. This view of Church renders us completely incapable of even considering God being involved in any other parts of life. We compartmentalize God and never consider that we are missing out on the most greatest relationship we could ever be a part of. We sin against the very God who died to make us His own, treating Him like a mere morsel of entertainment that we can choose to indulge in or toss aside based on our own selfish motives.

The world implores us to divide the spiritual and the secular, but that could not be farther from what God desires of His people.

I recently saw a Church marquee driving home from work that read, "GOD WANTS FULL CUSTODY, NOT WEEKEND VISITS." While I am not a huge fan of cheesy Church signs, I do enjoy the ones that catch me by surprise with a witty take on the world, and this one fell right into that category! And even though it's funny, it does convey the truth we are dealing with right now. God doesn't want us to glorify Him on Sunday only, He calls us to glorify Him everyday in everything we do. If we only give God our attention on Sunday and won't even give Him the time of day Monday through Saturday because we have too much work to do, too many people to see, or too many other priorities, then we might as well sleep in on Sunday. God won't give a flip whether or not we show up if our hearts don't belong to Him. God desires full-time worshipers, not part-time lobbyists trying to get on His good side for their own selfish ambitions.


Paul puts this very simply in 1 Corinthians 10:31 - "Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

This verse reveals to us that what God really wants is a committed relationship that involves everything we think, say, and do. It reveals that it is indeed possible for us to bring glory to God in even the most simple tasks. It also leaves us without an excuse as to why God is not intricately involved in every part of our lives. If I can involve God, and even bring Him glory, in eating and drinking then I must be able to do the same in fantasy football/playing guitar/going to class!

This truth puts to death any belief that there is a divide between the spiritual and secular. Everything we do, from going to work to eating lunch to spending time with our friends and family, can and should be done with God in mind. He is there, he is present, and there is nowhere we can go that he is not.

This truth not only shatters a worldview in which God and the secular are separated, but encourages us to adopt a new, truthful, God-centered worldview! With the knowledge that God is involved in every realm of our lives, we can joyfully approach him in even the most simple tasks (i.e. fantasy football) for guidance, wisdom, and communion!

This truth has the power to revolutionize our spiritual lives if we will only put God's word into action. As I said earlier, we have a bad habit of knowing truths on Sunday but refusing to trust in or implement them Monday through Saturday. We must strive to apply this truth into our daily lives if it will have any affect or bring God any glory. Let us pray throughout each day that God would remind us that He is involved in even the smallest things we do. I believe that anyone who does this will discover a newfound richness in their relationship with God unlike ever before.

May we be a people who does not merely worship God with our lips, but with our lives! - Psalm 50

Do We Know God or Do We Know About God?

What does it mean to know God?

How do we have a relationship with him?

What does that relationship even look like?

Well, for starters, let's take a look at what a relationship with God is not...

Ever heard of the ABCs of Christianity? If you grew up in a Southern Baptist Church like I did, you probably know exactly what I am talking about. They are mentioned at the end of nearly every sermon, and sometimes again during the alter call (cue the hymn I Surrender All) if the pastor does not believe an adequate number of people have walked down the aisle. The ABCs of Christianity stand for Admit, Believe, Confess. Admit you are a sinner, believe in Jesus, and confess your sin to God.

Bing, bang, boom! Just like that you become a Christian.

Now you are free to head out, feeling good about yourself because you just chose to believe in God, and ready to go about your life as you did before. The only difference is that now you no longer have to deal with any of that annoying guilt that had been bogging you down. It's easy, relatively painless, and leaves you feeling great about yourself.

But is this really what it looks like to have a relationship with God? Must I simply believe and do these three little letters to receive the immeasurable forgiveness that comes from the blood of God's only, perfect son Jesus Christ? What about the rest of the alphabet? Where are the D-Zs of Christianity? Can we really sum up the whole Christian life in three little letters?

One of the most common expressions used when describing how to become a follower of Christ and begin a relationship with God is "accepting Jesus." I, for one, have heard this term used countless times and have even used it myself. If you are not familiar with this term and are wondering how it would typically be used in a conversation, here is an example:

"Hello sir, how are you today? Oh me, I am doing great! Do you know why? Well, it's because I have accepted Christ. Would you like to accept Him? All you have to do is follow the ABCs of Christianity..." You get the idea, both these encounters and this expression is usually awkward, unexpected, and difficult to define.

"Accepting Christ" is one of the foundational phrases in the always changing, ever expanding vocabulary of Christianity. Use this phrase along with "let go and let God," "open your heart to God's will," and "what would Jesus do" and you've got contemporary Christian lingo. This lingo is a hodgepodge of ambiguous, difficult to define ideas that may sound insightful and spiritual, but actually make no sense at all. The use of Christian lingo will be met with hearty nods and joyful smiles by all, because even though we have no idea what these things mean, asking would only reveal our ignorance, we would be utterly humiliated. Who would want that? So this lingo grows and grows, where it stops nobody knows...

What we fail to realize though, due both to our fear of being judged and our assumption that this Christian lingo is a sign of spiritual eminence, is that the phrase "accepting Jesus" is found absolutely nowhere in the Bible. I know, this is truly a shocking discovery, but now that we've brought it into the light I'll be the first to admit that I don't understand what "accepting Jesus" even means.

Can I get an amen?

Like myself, you have probably heard multiple endings added to this phrase. The first that come to mind are "accepting Jesus" into your heart, as your savior, or as your Lord, but one thing I have never heard is an actual definition of it.

So, what does it mean to "accept Jesus"?

It probably depends on who you ask. Some would say it means to recognize that Jesus was a real person, which would mean that pretty much everyone who has ever studied history or read a Bible could be considered a Christian. Most would probably take it a step further define it as believing that Jesus was a real person who was also the son of God, lived a perfect life, died for the sins of humanity, was raised back to life on the third day after his death, and then ascended into heaven to one day return again. This is the basic storyline for all of the Gospels, so "accepting Jesus" would mean believing that what the Bible says about Jesus is true. While I do agree with this, I also see some problems with this being the only necessary characteristic for someone to be Christian, and in turn, know God.

My greatest concern with what people define as "accepting Jesus" is that it oversimplifies the beauty of Christian conversion and waters down the richness of the Gospel. From this oversimplification also comes the possibility of misinforming people and allowing them to believe they have a relationship with God when they actually do not. Let me explain this with an illustration.

I am a very big fan of Peyton Manning, the quarter back for the Indianapolis Colts. I love to watch him play football. I watch his interviews, read articles about him, and talk about him with my friends. Sometimes, I talk about him like I know him. I refer to him simply at "Peyton" or "Pey-Pey" as if we are good friends, and as much as I wish we were good friends, the truth is we are not. I know it may be surprising to you, but Peyton Manning and I are not friends, I have never even met the guy. I know a lot about him, but I'm about as close to having a real relationship with Peyton Manning as John Daly is with a dietician.

This is the same kind of understanding people have of God. They have been to church, they have heard people preach, teach, and discuss the bible, they know things about God, and they even may know what God likes and dislikes. Because they have knowledge of things about God they assume they have a real relationship with Him. Please don't get me wrong, these things are good to know, but they are unable, in an of themselves, to constitute a real, personal relationship with God.

These people are fans of God, they would like Him on facebook, even add him as their friend, but they have never actually interacted with God in a one on one capacity for any significant period of their lives. They keep God at a distance (not a very friendly way to treat someone we call our Lord and savior). Most people who live like this would genuinely believe they are Christians because they have been taught that this is all it takes to be a Christian. It is this gross oversimplification of Christianity that gives people a false sense of security when they are, in reality, no closer to having a relationship with God than I am with Peyton Manning.

Now for those of you who do not believe that my previous illustration and explanation have been infallibly typed through me by the very fingers of God, I will also consult God's word to see what it has to say about this topic.

James 2:17-19 says, "17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder." (NIV)

The main point I want to make from this passage is from V.19, where James says, sarcastically, that it is good to believe there is one God, but that even the demons (the sworn enemies of God himself) believe that and shudder. If the demons, who definitely do not have a relationship with God (at least not the kind I want to have), believe in God, then believing in God cannot be the only requirement for having a relationship with Him.

Okay, so the demons believe in God, big deal! What do they believe about Jesus, that's what really matters, right? Well, let's take a look.

When Jesus approaches a man who is possessed by a demon in the Gospel of Mark, the demon says, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!" (Mark 1:24 NIV).

The demon (remember, these guys are the sworn enemies of God) knew exactly who Jesus was. He called him the "Holy One of God," undoubtedly recognizing as God's son. Therefore, simply believing Jesus is the Son of God cannot be enough to constitute calling someone a Christian either.

So if "accepting Jesus" means believing what the Bible says about Jesus is true, then we would put ourselves in some pretty lousy company since even the demons know and believe that what the Bible says about Jesus is true. This leaves us with one of two conclusions. Either our understanding of what it means to be a Christian has been perverted or anyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, along with the demons, is in a right relationship with God and good to go.

I would argue for the former.

The purpose of this whole discussion is to reveal that the requirements to be a Christian have been watered down and oversimplified to coincide with today's culture of comfort, ease, and simplicity. Believing that what the Bible says about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is true is simply not enough! God's word is not an end in itself, our reading of it and believing its truthfulness must be met with a change of heart. Our lives must be changed if we are to call ourselves Christians. Remember what James said earlier, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:17). The faith we say we have MUST be followed by action, otherwise it is completely useless.

Knowing God is so much more and so much better than just knowing things about him. Knowing God means having a personal relationship with him. It means that our lives are completely changed upon believing in him and the sacrifice his son Jesus made on the cross. The decisions we make are influenced by our desire to reciprocate love towards a God who so perfectly loved us first. This results in a new found ability and desire to resist sinful habits, spend quality time with God in prayer,  study His will in the Bible, and live out his will in our lives. These are the ways that we know God, these are the ways that we engage with him in a real relationship!

On a final note of clarity, please understand that the purpose of this post is not to scare anyone. It is not my intention to make every single Christian who reads this post begin questioning their salvation. My intention is to unveil the oversimplified, watered down Christianity that is taught by so many today for what it is, a sham. If you have been taught these things, then I hope you will open the Bible for yourself, read it, and see how rich, beautiful, and deep is the love that God has for us! A love that, when fully revealed to us, can result in nothing but a genuine, repenting, loving, enduring relationship in return.

I have to give some props to A.W. Tozer and his book, The Pursuit of God, which inspired this post.
I highly recommend it.

If you have any questions or comments please post or send me a message.