Spiritually Speaking

Several years ago, I was shooting pool in the basement of the Bible Chair with several of my favorite college students. For some reason, I was making some pretty good shots and beating everybody in sight. Since we were all good friends, no one was really worried about winning and losing, but after a few minutes of watching my winning streak, one of the students suggested that my “connections” with God must be exceptionally good for Him to let me have such a run of good favor. I was pretty sure of my answer, at the time – “I don’t think the Lord cares very much about who wins or loses a game of pool at the BC.” For that matter, I don’t think God has a favorite NFL team, nor does the Creator favor OSU over OU or vice versa.

HOWEVER, I have to say that I was pleased and encouraged by the comments made by some professional athletes, during last Sunday’s playoff games. In particular, when asked for his take on the Viking’s amazing last-second win over the Saints, Vikings quarterback Case Keenum replied, “It's probably the third best day of my life: the day I gave my life to Jesus Christ, the day I married my wife, and probably this one.” The receiver who caught the game-winning pass said, in essence, that God had put him in the right place to get to catch that ball.

One can never go wrong in giving God the credit. It is from His hand and by His grace that we exist, live and thrive. And while I don’t think this win is an indication that God is a Vikings fan, I am proud of men who will set their pride aside and give glory to the Creator. By the way, I recently lost a game of pool to Sarah Green – a girl! What does that have to say about my “connections?”