Fanatics

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God

I couldn’t honestly call myself a sports fanatic, but I do enjoy watching professionals go at it on the gridiron, ball field, basketball court, or ice rink. One of my biggest hopes is that someone will put together a professional curling league in my lifetime.

When I observe the teams I’ve noticed that some of their logos make sense, and some don’t. Take the Chicago Bulls for example. Their mascot is a red bull. Makes sense to me. The Dallas Cowboys have a single star on their helmets. Again, it makes sense because Texas is known as the Lone Star State.

But other team traditions seem a little strange to me. Take Penn State, for example. Their colors are blue and white and they are known as the Nitanny Lions. Lions are neither blue nor white. And can anyone tell me just who the Los Angeles Dodgers are dodging?

Any talk about sport teams has to include the mascots they have. You’ll find everything from a gorilla in Utah, to a fish in Florida, to a strange creature in Philadelphia known as a “Phanatic.”

But no talk about sports would be complete without the mention of the fans—fanatics. I love watching the games, and seeing the fans in the stadium. Some will be wearing wigs, hats, and jerseys. Some hold towels and brooms. Some will wave pennants. Others paint their faces or bodies and/or wear outlandish costumes.  All of this to identify with their favorite team.

That gets me to thinking about our identification with Christ. Would you or I be considered a fanatic for Him? And how do we show our true colors for Him? Should we wear a foam hand with a finger pointing up and shout out to everyone we meet, “He’s number 1...He’s number 1!”?

Here’s what I think. We show our “fanaticism” for Christ in how we conduct our lives—how we behave. The Bible calls this SELF-CONTROL, and self-control is important to God. He made it a part of the “Fruit of the Spirit” and He expects us to use it liberally.

When we exercise self-control instead of getting angry, we acknowledge that some things are more important than our petty resentments. When we exercise self-control instead of using profanity, we confirm our submission to a higher authority. When we exercise self-control instead of using drugs or alcohol or pursuing sexual immorality, we exhibit that we worship God, not our own desires.

Yes, it’s OK to wear a T-shirt with a Christian logo on it. That is a way to identify with Christ. But always remember that the person inside the T-shirt is what really matters to God.