Wearing Your Team's Colors

After a Sunday filled with some good football games, it's easy to have this topic on my mind this morning.  I was thinking about how we show support for our favorite football team by going to games or sitting in front of the television wearing jerseys and t-shirts and hats - perhaps even painting our faces and waving big "#1" foam fingers in the air.  And home games are the best, aren't they?  We get together with friends who all wear the team colors - and even people we don't know are like family simply because they share the same love for the home team.  Proudly showing our colors is easy when the surroundings are comfortable.

I have some friends who are fans of the Philadelphia Eagles (pronounced 'Iggles') and they are travelling down to the D.C. area tonight for the game against the Redskins.  I can guarantee that they are wearing their finest Eagle's jersey's and hats and will not be shy about showing their allegiance to the green-and-white.  Isn't that what being a sports fan is all about.  We want it known that we are part of this franchise and we'd be ready to jump right in there if the coach called on us.  We're more than willing to take the name-calling, the food being thrown at us, the obscene gestures...All because we love our team and want to be associated with them.

I attended a Bruins - Flyers hockey game not too long ago with my brother-in-law here in Philadelphia.  We were walking across the parking lot and spotted 2 Bruins fans decked out in their team's gear being all proud that they were there.  As we passed them, my brother-in-law shouts - "Hey, he's Bruins fan too!" while pointing in my direction.  They questioned "Where's your jersey?" - I had no answer...I wasn't wearing one (and honestly don't own one) but the next thing they said was, "BOO...BOOOOO - you're not a real Bruins fan!"  We laughed, but I can't argue...I claimed to be a Bruins fan, but was too ashamed and fearful of being called names that I chose not to make it known.  And unfortunately, it's all too easy to do that in our Christian lives.

We Christians find it easy to wear our team colors at home games too.  We put on our Sunday best, we proudly carry our Bibles and notebooks and put smiles on our faces and sing songs and pray out loud in Sunday School.  We may let an "AMEN" slip out when the preacher says something we agree with or raise our hands in praise when worship choruses are sung.  It's easy to do that among our friends and family, just like it is in football.  The difference is that when go to work or school or the grocery store on Monday morning, we seem to forget that team allegiance and take off all of our "Jesus gear" and try to slip through the crowds without anyone noticing.  We can't even support other "Jesus fans" because we can't recognize them.  We might as well be Eagles fans wearing Redskins jerseys.

Can I encourage you today to put the "Jesus gear" back on the other 6 days of the week?  We claim to love God and we're working to get better at loving those around us, so we ought to be proud of the fact that we are Christians and not be fearful of the name-calling or objections.  I am not suggesting that we go out and start berating the "opposing team" - because that isn't showing love as I mentioned last time.  1 Peter 4:16 "However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name."  Take your Bible out of your desk drawer and leave it on top.  Take the Max Lucado book you're reading to work and read at lunch with your office door OPEN.  Feel free to pause before lunch, close your eyes and say grace before lunch with your clients at Applebee's.  Stick up for your classmate who is being made fun of.  Say an encouraging word to the cashier who looks likes she's had the worst morning possible. Show your love for God by being bold and perhaps it will lead to an opportunity to share your faith with a friend or coworker.  We can't show love if we're too afraid to be known as Christians.

We have to love Yankees fans too??!?!?

OK, I have friends who are Yankees fans so I will go easy on the Yankee-bashing in this post.  Actually, I guess the point of this post is to say that even Yankee fans need God's love.  :)  Most of you know that I am a die-hard red Sox fan and will take any given opportunity to bash our nemesis, the NY Yankees.  In fact as my wedding reception in North Jersey I felt it was necessary to announce, "Babe Ruth, Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs - all of those guys left the Red Sox and became Yankees...I will not be following in their footsteps." The Yankees are known as the "evil empire", but we are told to forgive so (swallowing hard) that's what I'll do.

In Luke 6:27-28 we read "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."  Up in the Boston area, NY fans are mortal enemies for at least 8 months out of every year. The hatred runs deep and this is known as the fiercest rivalry in all of baseball and has been carried on for generations.  Will it ever end?  I doubt it. Love isn't easy...I suspect if it was then we'd see a much different landscape in this country than we see now.  Loving family and friends is easier, but loving our enemies?  Now that's near impossible, and yet this is what God expects from us.  Why?  "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35).  Because it is so unnatural to love people who hate us that it can only be explained as a "God thing."  It points to Christ - it shows what we're about and our enemies have no defense against it.

Let me offer this up as a picture of what I mean...abortion.  Christians know it is wrong and have very strong feelings about it, and pro-choice supporters feel they are right and scream just as loud from their side.  Is the right response from Christians to yell and scream and carry signs calling pro-choice supporters all kinds of names?  I don't believe it is - those are not loving actions...all that is accomplished is bunch of noise.  Well, something else happens - we get to be known for what we are against rather than for what we really are.  The secular part of society knows we are against abortion or homosexuality or whatever it is instead of seeing that we are compassionate and reflecting God's love.  That verse about does not say that people will know we're Christians by loudly protesting every immoral issue. 

We as Christians need to do a better job of being known for our love rather than for hating what we don't like.  It's easy to say, but doing it is difficult.  Start by asking for God to help you understand how much He loves you and try to be a mirror of that love.  It's difficult to hear God when we're busy yelling...

Your turn...what other "enemies" do we have a hard time loving?
(and practice loving by not bashing the Red Sox in your comments...thanks!)