SPORTS FANATIC
They
rushed into the stadium with the zeal of Paul, but looking at them closely one
would see a proud posture in the way they matched around and in the way they
talk. Some of them appeared decent, but
others of them were ruffians, ruffians in the heart as well as in the way they
fixed their dress.
They
were hailing the name of a football team that has become very popular in town,
they were dancing and singing inciting challenging and accusive songs. When I asked my friend who they were he said,
these are fans, supporters of the XY Club.
But what I saw were fanatics and not fans. Football now is one of the most popular
sports of the century. The origin of
football is remote, but it dates back to as early as 1000 BC. One of the most
highly esteemed pastimes of the Chinese was the Tsu‑chu that is "a leather
ball kicked with the foot."
In
500 B.C Tsu‑chu was included in the programmes for familiarity training of the
Chinese armies. From that time until
today football has become an outstanding action packed event that is enjoyed
everywhere around the world. It is
played by two teams of 11 people each, in which players by to get the ball into
the other side's goal. The games is
guided by a host of rules and the referee is present to make sure these rules
are respected and obey and normally, his decision is final. The dictionary defines sports as that which
diverts, and makes merry. It means to
play or to frolic. Sport causes
amusement, sports are pastimes stressing physical still and strength, Amateur
sports are primarily intended for enjoyment of the participants, while
professional sports are for the entertainment of the spectators.
The
annual budget allocation for sports in different nations have been increasing
in alarming proportion over the years.
The government seems to catalogue numerous advantages fort sports. The say sports is a means for
(1) Entertainment
(2) Socialization
(3) Development
(4) Unity
(5) Tourism
A
part from the benefits of good heath the players enjoy there is a financial
gain and popularity attached to it. It is true that sports men have wonderful
advantage but let me caution you also that this game has equally destroyed the
faith of many believers. The Late. J.
Clarke said, "Never does man appear to greater disadvantage than when he
is the sport of his own ungoverned passions." A lot of people are being
tossed about because their excessive passions for sports.
Tragic
events have occurred all over the world because of this game football, and yet
the number of fans keeps increasing geometrically. During one of the African cup of Nations'
finals between Nigerian and Zambia, Zambia made the first goal and in a short
while the Nigeria Green Eagles equalized.
A keen spectator and supporter watching on the TV was so overjoyed. He jumped up hailing out victory and
immediately dropped down, he passed out feces and urine and died later in the
hospital.
A
woman divorced her husband for neglect due to sports. Another man killed his
wife for putting off the light accidentally while he was watching football on
his TV. During the USA'94 games a player accidentally scored his team and
immediately the encounter was over he got 12 bullets shots that blew his heart
asunder to death. Some players even go ahead to seduce themselves with drugs to
increase their efficiency so that they can operate beyond mere natural strength
and to take away fear.
I
also a heard of another woman in a certain country who shot herself to death
because her country was defeated in a football match with another country. There was a man who was a staunch supporter
of a certain football club. He was
watching his members on a friendly encounter with another team on his recently
purchased Television. But because his
team was defeated he got annoyed and used a heavy metal rod and blew off his TV
into pieces. During the recent USA'94 world cup. Two young brothers of the same mother were
arguing and boasting to one another. One
was saying 'I am more current in watching the USA '94 encounter and I know the
circumstances surrounding the score of certain goals more than you.' This
assertion provoked his a dirty slap.
That ended his brothers' life immediately.
At
a doctor's request a particular patient on a wheel chair was brought to watch
the football match between the Nigerian team and the Italian team. This patient jumped up out of his sit and
broke his leg because of excessive joy when Italy defeated Nigerian and later
died in the hospital. A hypertensive man in a certain city in Nigeria cup, when
Nigerian won one of the preliminary match for an over flow of joy fell down and
died. Stories of this kind abound, but let us learn something from these sports
fans. Though they are spectators,
personally present to behold the game, they commit not only their substance
into it but even their lives. Some
football fanatics don't mind spending a match in a faraway country.
Some
of these sports men are married to their games.
Some prefer to face the risks involved in than to pay the price of
taking the baby for nine months and thus hindering their regular participation
in sports. A lot of spectators normally have this "I can do better ‑‑if I
were the one syndrome" They import that spirit from the football filed to
the church. They sit on their seats to count
the mistakes of ministers and underrate their grammatical constructions, thus
they come out without any blessing. But the fact still remains that Christian
have a lot of lesson to learn from sports fanatic. Christianity is a race, a game, a battle and
a way of life. It does not leave out any
man no matter how rich or how poor to be a spectator but it demands all of us
to be participators. The Bible tells us that we have a cloud of witnessed
surrounding us:
1.
Therefore, as we have so vast a cloud of spectators (witnesses) in the
grandstands, let us throw off every impediment and the sin that easily entangle
our feet, and run with endurance the race for which we are entered, 2.Keeping
our eyes on Jesus, the perfect leader and example of faith..." --Heb. 12:1,2 Williams) As long as we are involved in this holy way
of living, there would be no room for finger pointing you are not a spectator,
you are called to participate in the matters of
the kingdom. The Christian life
is more than just an imitation of Christ.
It is a participation with Christ. "For we are made partakers of
Christ" (Heb. 3:14). They proceed on the basis of imitation in our
Christian life will plunge us in the same a mess Paul found himself in (Romans
7).
They
are committed to their team and are ready to do anything to support it. Can this be true of your Christian faith? Or
have you placed sports above Christ? You
can forego church service, Bible study or prayer meeting to go to the stadium
to be a spectator. Our Evangelist said
one day, "If it is brother so and so I know he will not come for
fellowship today because there is a football match in the stadium..." what
a poor testimony to be said about a Christian.
Some people can be indoors just to watch football, basket ball or
wrestling on TV but cannot afford to stay a full hours in Church. That is a misplaced priority. God wants us to have greater zeal for his
work than we have for sports. To commit
ourselves to nothing but to kingdom issues, to be dedicated and extremely sold
out to fulfilling the task before us. May God help us to pick this great lesson
from sport fanatics to be Jesus radicals.
Never laggard about the issues of eternal life but constantly on the
move, on our knees and reaching out. We are not spectators, we are called to
participate.
Pastor Michael Joseph Gowon
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