Most Important

It is finally here…Super Bowl weekend. After weeks of practice and preparation, months of the regular season, and some of the most exciting postseason play in years, we stand only hours away from the start of Super Bowl XLIV. When the Saints and Colts take the field for the 6:25pm kickoff of Sunday night, the eyes of the nation will be glued to their televisions to watch what we hope will be an instant classic.

For the players and coaches, it is the chance of a lifetime. But, in the seemingly endless ramp-up to the game, I have constantly heard statements that concern me a little bit. Statements like:

• “This is the most important game of their lives.”
• “This is the most important event of their lives.”
• “This is the most important moment of their lives.”

Certainly I understand the significance of the Super Bowl for the players and coaches, for team staff and personnel, for fans and broadcasters. I get all of that. It is the Super Bowl and it is history—and it matters.

But when I hear words like “most important” being used over and over again, I pause. For those involved in the game who know Christ, the Super Bowl is still very important—but it is not the most important thing they will ever do. For the team that wins, it is tremendously important—but it is not the most important victory of their lives.

Followers of Christ know that the greatest victory we will ever experience—and the most important—is the victory Christ purchased on our behalf on the cross as an expression of His deep love for us. Paul spoke of the real foes and opposition we face in life in Romans 8:35, using words like tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword—unquestionably greater tests than the players will face in the big game. But, we do not face them alone. Paul went on to respond to those very challenges by saying:

We don’t just win—we “overwhelmingly conquer” in the most important challenges of life because of Christ and His love. So, enjoy the game, cheer for your team, and be amazed at the show out on by the great talent of great athletes—but save the words “most important” for the stuff that really matters.

Join us tomorrow on Sports Spectrum radio as we take a further look at the upcoming Super Bowl, and the real issues in life and sports.

Bill Crowder, Sport Spectrum Chaplain