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Why I Won’t Be Watching the NBA All-Star Game
By Ken Horn | February 16, 2008
I’m a sports fan, but I don’t watch the NBA All-Star game. The NBA is enough about individual play and primadonna superstars as it is, but when you put them all together with the express purpose of seeing who can call attention to himself the most, it plays out too much like a self-love fest, look-at-me orgy for my tastes.
The slam-dunk competition is similar. This is not about what players can do (put the ball in the hoop), but how they do it. And it has crept into the actual game, with players risking points to wow the fans. I have always liked how Peja Stojakovic dunks the ball, gently laying it in the sphere. You never saw any of his dunks go bouncing off the back rim.
The last time I looked, the game was about getting points, not looking like Superman while scoring from point blank range.
The same goes for the Christian walk. It is about what you do, not how you look doing it. There are plenty of superstar, flamboyant ministers who can look good but have little fruit. Likewise, there are plenty of faithful believers steadily and faithfully serving God and bearing eternal fruit out of the public eye. When we get to heaven I believe most of us will be surprised to see who has borne the most fruit. I think there will be a lot of “unknowns” up in front of the big names.
Jesus said, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2, NKJV). It doesn’t matter how good the branch looks; it just matters if it is bearing fruit.
I do enjoy sports. But I like to see teams that play well together. And I think the point of the game is to score and win, not wow the crowd.
Topics: sports, Christian living |
