Saturday, June 11, 2011

Hockey and Inward Sin

With the Stanley Cup finals on , I have to admit that my head and heart has not been into writing. The reason , my Boston Bruins are on a run that has them playing for the Stanley Cup.As I write they trail 3 games to 2 and face a hard up hill battle to win. One  more loss and they will be eliminated. That is a hard thing to swallow to be so close and still not win. Its hard to make it to the championship and its been 21 years since  Boston has played for the cup. So to possibly watch your team lose , hits you in the gut hard. Its hard for a non sports fan to get this , but cheering for your team since a child , it becomes part of your identity.

So when they lose you take it personal.You actually feel sick to your stomach. So what does this have to do with inward sin? For me when your team is winning ,life is good but when they lose , my soul turns sour and downcast. I'm edgy ,angry and feel totally lost . The sinful man that lurks within me finds an entrance with a loss and all the disappointments and personal mistakes rise up like a serpent and shows its fangs. It is truly irrational and ridiculous to allow a game affect me so . But it shows how close to the surface sin can be .

So should I stop watching hockey and therefore eliminating the temptation ? Sometimes I wonder if I should . Jesus said that if anything causes you to sin , to cut it out of your life. I take it so personal that it boils over and  into all past failures and struggles. So in a loss it cuts deep . I realize that many Christians are great sports fans and probably do not struggle with the anger I have.

So hockey in reality really just reveals that within my heart I have many unresolved issues. So I don't think its my love of the Bruins has to go but I must turn to Christ to uproot the true nature of my sins . So my prayer is that first ,my Bruins make a comeback and win the cup (please Lord) and that God will forgive me , renew me and help me uproot and put to death the old man .


Verse Of The Day  :  [15] For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
(Romans 7:15 ESV)

1 comment:

Kathy said...

Some of us are not hard enough on ourselves... and then there's you. You're right, you did go over the top. That being said, you've showed your kids something that you don't realize. They thought it was funny. Remember what our youngest, Jordan, said? He said, "It felt like we'd been invaded by 3 Irishmen, 2 Scotsmen and a Viking."
Seriously, they know that when you're freaking out like that, that we're all still safe. None of us will be a punching bag.
Although I'm not condoning said silly behaviour, considering the ridiculous anount of stress you've been under I think you're doing rather well. Statistically, that amount of pressure should have made us your punching bag. It didn't.
If it makes you feel any better, I will give you one thing. You're probably guilty of breaking Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me" but just barely, by human standards.
Finally, any man who can continue to take care of, protect and love his family like you have, should ask God's forgiveness and move on. After that, it's time to put away the sack cloth and ashes, Babe. Love you, Mrs Reg