That Sucking Sound Is…

May 23, 2009 at 9:25 am (Uncategorized)

The enemy of best isn’t terrible or the worst.  The enemy of the best things are good things that get in the way.  One of those good things that gets in the way of the best is sports.  We love how sports keep our kids active.  We see the value of coaches who instill more than just skills, but character too.  Sports are exciting and full of drama.  They even give us a social outlet and friendships too.

But sports are robbing us of something better.  They are taking our time.  They are consuming our priorities.  They are taking over our lives and the change is so subtle that we often miss it.  Sports often force us to choose and make choices that seem temporary, but often become permanent.

When our kids were younger, they looked so cute running the bases backwards or kicking the ball in the wrong goal.  We never thought that these “games” would ever become the all-consuming, year-round, expensive lifestyle choices that they turn into.  The problem is that the change was slow and steady.  Each year the requirements to do well went up, while the emphasis on having fun became a forgotten afterthought.  Then, the sacrifices required to compete with the best started to drive families to be gone multiple weekends in a row for months at a time so you could get your team into the best tournaments and showcase talents to the top scouts and coaches.  All for what?  A possible scholarship?  The prestige of a state championship?  Maybe one day a world or Olympic championship?  I think it’s funny that many parents are hoping to save money on university, but they have spent thousands of dollars for years so their kids could play on the best teams and they could have saved those same dollars and invested in their schooling early in their kid’s lives.

That sucking sound you hear is the time and experiences that you are losing as your kids grow up and leave your home to become another generation of adults.  That sucking sound is the loss of potential relationship you may have had with your kids that will disappear when their sports disappear.  That sucking sound is the emptiness that you come to realize when your kids don’t care about God, but do care about how many reps they can do or how many goals they scored in the state tournament the last couple years so they can impress a scout or coach or …

My faith matters so much to me.  I am going to try and help my kids to see that many things will compete with their faith.  They will have many choices to make after they graduate and leave our home.  My hope and prayer is that they take their faith into college and marriage and child-bearing and beyond.  Let’s change the culture together!  Let’s be disciplemakers who start with the most important relationships- our families!  Let’s make the best things our highest priorities and show the world a different way to live.

Pastor Mark