Giving Everything

A friend of mine recently shared an article outlining a €125 million bid by French soccer giant, Paris St. Germain for the services of Cristiano Ronaldo. I don't really understand the details of European soccer contracts, but that translates to about US$140,000,000, which is a huge amount.

My friend, who knows much more about all things soccer than I do, noted, "That kind of expenditure can't be in anyone's business plan." In a sport without a salary cap, one club's desperation to improve can have a dramatic inflationary effect on every other team in the competition. If other clubs are to remain competitive they will now need to pay their current players more and look to recruit higher priced players from other leagues.  In the end, it costs everyone more.

A similar event occurred in Major League Baseball last year when the Miami Marlins signed Giancarlo Stanton to a $325 million, 13-year contract. That record contract averages $25 million per season, or $154,321 per game (if he plays every game). 

In 2014 Stanton averaged .237 and hit 37 home runs. That was good for second place on the home runs scored list. This year he's currently 4th in home runs with 13 but on a pace to surpass last year's total. While he's only averaging .237 he's leading all baseball with 42 RBI.

Despite these impressive numbers, the Marlins sit last in their division with an 18-30 record. They've already fired their manager, and appointed their former GM with no management experience as their new manager.

Desperate to win, or appear relevant, or something... They've paid so much money to Stanton that they've had to trade other highly paid players. And fans now pay Stanton's salary through higher ticket prices to watch a team that struggles terribly.

These massive expenditures may be ill-advised, but they're legal.

Then there are those clubs and players so desperate to win that they'll break the rules to gain a competitive advantage.

I'm not sure if we'll ever really know what happened in the NFL with Tom Brady and "Deflategate". The generally accepted (except by Patriots fans) version of events seems to run like this:

• It probably doesn't make any real difference to his performance, but Tom Brady feels most comfortable throwing footballs that are a couple of PSI below the legal limit.
• He arranged for clubhouse employees to deflate footballs to his preferred PSI after they'd been examined by officials.
• The Indianapolis Colts complained to the NFL about the footballs New England was using and they were found to bee too soft.
• Despite apparently incriminating text messages, Brady denied that he had anything to do with the deflated footballs and is currently appealing the NFL penalties he received.
• Brady and the Patriots won the Super Bowl with properly inflated footballs.

Why would someone as talented and successful as Brady involve himself in something like this? Perhaps he thought it wasn't a big deal. A Sports Illustrated article last year detailed Brady's meticulous planning and care for his body during and outside the football season. It seems hard to believe a guy dedicated to going to bed a 9pm each night would pay no attention to the inflation of the footballs he throws each week.

After 15 years in the NFL Brady continues to give everything, and maybe a little more than he should, in order to keep winning.

People will spend enormous amounts of money in an attempt to win a trophy. How many Christians will just throw their loose change in the collection plate?

People will go to the edge of legality and beyond seeking to build a football dynasty. How many Christians struggle to commit a couple of hours a week to God as we seek to build God's kingdom?

The dedication of players, owners, and administrators challenges my commitment to the service of God and his people. Would I change my diet if it would help me love others better? Would I go to bed earlier if it allowed me to represent God better? Would I give more money to God's work on the off chance that it might help the church bring someone else to salvation?  How much am I willing to work, and how much am I willing to risk for God?

Jesus told a story of a guy who found the kingdom of God buried in a field, so he sold everything he had and bought the field. Another guy saw the kingdom of God in a precious pearl so he also sold all he had in order to buy the pearl. (Matt 13:44-46)

It's funny how we expect the owners and athletes on our favorite teams to "give everything" so that we can experience the joy of winning a championship. At the same time we demand much less of those pursuing eternal life with our Creator.

Perhaps it's time for a rethink.

Deflategate: Coming to Church Near You

You've heard the stories. When the Indianapolis Colts played the New England Patriots in the AFC championship a couple of weeks ago it was discovered that the footballs the Patriots used in the first half were about 15% too flat. After the officials inspected the balls before the game, they mysteriously lost 2 psi of air pressure by half time.

The suspicion is that the Patriots (or someone in their employ) let some air out of the ball because Tom Brady prefers to play with a softer football, and/or because it might help the running backs to grip the ball.  The fact that the Patriots scored 28 points after half time with the footballs back at their legal air pressure certainly challenges the issue of whether they obtained any real advantage with the softer balls.

Nonetheless, if the balls were deliberately deflated after the official inspection it's a pretty blatant rule violation. Since the Patriots already have a black eye when it comes to breaking rules (think Spygate) some pundits are calling for severe penalties over the air pressure issue. Personally, I don't see it as requiring more than a slap on the wrist and increased scrutiny in the future.

How big has this issue been?  For the last week, this discussion has dominated the sports talk airwaves. It has generated numerous memes on facebook. Sports websites have turned into science journals as they discuss how atmospheric and environmental conditions impact air pressure inside a football.

Oh, and the Super Bowl is this coming Sunday!  This won't distract at all.

The sad truth is that Deflategate routinely occurs in our churches. Let me demonstrate. 

Chuck: I came by the church building Monday morning and I noticed the doors were unlocked. Anyone could have just walked in there and then walked out with whatever they wanted. This is serious. Whose job is it to lock the building each Sunday?

Roger: This doesn't sound right. We'll look into it. Someone must know something.

Bill: It wasn't me. I'm never the last one to leave. I don't even know if the doors have locks, yet alone how to use them!

Tom: I have a key and I often use the locks, but there are other people as well. No one seems to have the specific responsibility of locking the building and we sure can't figure out who was the last person to leave yesterday!

Roger: This really is serious. Do we know whether or not the building is ever locked on a Sunday night?

Chuck: It's probably Bill. He's done this sort of thing before....

Bill: It definitely wasn't me. I've looked into it, and it's quite possible that due to the weather the door has swollen a little, maybe water in the wood, or warmer temperatures.  When that happens the door often jams, so it looks and feels closed, but if you really pull on it the lock wasn't engaged.

Roger: I think we need to take this to the elders. It's very serious. Maybe they'll want to bring in some door consultants. And if someone's lying, that's a spiritual issue...

Elders: We have a meeting this week. We should be able to allocate a couple of hours to discuss this.

Tom: Ha, Ha, Ha, Come on fella's, it's not that big a deal. Besides we've got this big evangelistic campaign coming up next weekend. Could we spend some time going over our plans for that?

Elders: Tom, we'd like you to come to our meeting. Once we get this matter resolved we can turn our attention to the plans for this weekend.

It really is this easy to let little things around the church take precedence over the important mission God has given us.

Gossip, complaining, accusing... all these negatives behaviours will just take the air out of a church. They distract us. They create discord. And they're not that important.

Of course we want the doors of the church building locked when no one's there. Of course we want to have a backup when the projector blows a bulb. Of course we don't want rubbish under the pews. Of course we want a million little things to be done "just right".

But we can't let any of these little things become the BIG THING in the life of God's People.

The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him.  (Titus 3:8-10)