Click on the link to read and hear the story from MYNW.com
Are you there God? It's Me. A Seahawks Fan.: Half of Americans surveyed say they think God is partially responsible for a sports win or loss, and many think their team has been cursed by something supernatural. But Bothell's Eastlake Community Church's pastor says no, sports have to do with athleticism, not God. He says there are more important things to pray for.
I always laugh when I see and hear people praying at high school sporting events, any sporting event as far as that goes. Coaches and players gathered around in a circle praying to God that they will be the ones who win. I always wonder what if two catholic schools are playing each other? Clearly both teams are going to pray for a win. Does god have a favorite catholic school? Does the one with the least amount of child molestations get a tip o' the hat from god?
Yes, yes one can say "no, no we aren't praying for a win. we are praying that god will guide us to make the right decisions and allow him to use the players to glorify god." No. Sorry. You're praying for a win. You can justify it all you want but you sure as hell want a win.
Russel Wilson of the Seahawks if very open about his faith. Tim Tebow is also a vocal proponent for christianity. I have no problem with that. Russel Wilson is very successful and probably the best quarterback in football history. Yes he used his faith to get to where he is today. However, non-christians can have the same success and they use the same strategies to get there. They just don't label it as "faith."
Christians:
When you pray you are putting your thoughts, your dreams, your struggles out to God to hear. God, in turn, guides you and shows you how to accomplish your goals and work through your problems. Your faith in him allows you to recognize bad decisions, bad influences also well thought out decisions and positive influences. You become a better person.
Athiests:
The flip side is if you are a non-christian, an atheist, you are putting your thoughts, your dreams, your struggles out to the "universe." By verbalizing or writing down your thoughts and issues, you are making them tangible. You now know that you have these goals to accomplish and you need to start making the correct choices to make that happen. You recognize bad decisions that would deviate from accomplishing those goals. You begin to recognize the kind of company you keep. A bad person, a negative influence, will become clear to you and you will then see that you need to get that person out of your life. On the other hand you will see what kind of positive influences that other people have to offer and knowing them will help you obtain those goals in a healthy, safe manner. You become a better person.
All this is the same as prayer. The only difference is that Athiests are not doing it to glorify God. We are doing it to better ourselves and the world around us....which is really what Christians are accomplishing when they pray and glorify God.
So when you pray at a sporting event remember that not only is it selfish, it is not glorifying God. It just shows that you really, really, really want to win.
