Madness, Madness I Tell You!

As is generally the case, I was able to connect Sunday's sermon (and subsequent small group topic) to a very specific part of my life. Pete spoke on the tendency we have as humans to take something that is good, and make it ultimate. I think most humans get that there is a certain hierarchy within the universe, a natural order of existence that places things of importance above the average and mediocre. Family before friends, friends before complete strangers - it's very simple, but no less a part of the way we intend to function. However, we stray from this model. We let good things (work, hobbies, entertainment) become more important than things that "matter." As Christians, we know God tops the list of the hierarchy. But how often do we forego any time spent with him in a given day to pursue our interests and families and friends? If you're like me, it's a lot. We have a way of taking what is normally good and making it an ultimate, something that should only be reserved for God. It's not like we're out there every day looking for a fight or drugs or a pyramid scheme to get invovled in. We are stuck chasing not what is obviously evil, but what is deceptively good.

Okay, I know what you're thinking..."cool story bro." But it applies, watch.

There's a title given to this time of year where we immerese ourselves in something good. And then we immerse ourselves more, and get deeper and deeper in and get a point where we are crazy (aka, mad). Get it? March Madness.

I love this time of year, and so does everyone else. If you question whether or not we make an "ultimate" out of the NCAA Tournament, chances are you've already gone mad. The tournament isn't a bad thing, but (much like other massive sporting events) we worship it and give it a lot more attention than we probably should. After all, the main story on ESPN's homepage right now is detailing the bracket picked by our President (yea, like...the most powerful person in the world right now). 1The NCAA says that 1 out of every 10 Americans fill out a bracket, but I'd bet that is a very conservative estimate. Additionally, the Nevada gaming commission claims around $80-90 million is wagered every year, with another $7 billion or so being illegally wagered in office bracket pools and with other bookies. It's a crazy time, but it is fun. The question remains:

What are we to do?


I don't recommend boycotting the tournament (Lord knows I won't be). But what I might suggest is that we not let watching games or filling in brackets get in the way of maintaining our relationship with God and/or others. Take a look at the hierarchy of things in your life (if you aren't a Christian, maybe you value your family most and that shouldn't suffer because you like watching basketball) and make sure the good things (like March Madness) don't become ultimate things.

On that note...GO RACERS!




1 http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2009/03/17/ncaa-march-madness-can-cause-lifetime-gambling-problems.html