Losing

Losing is a hard thing to take--especially when you're so invested in the team who loses. My Tennessee Titans once again stumbled on the road to greatness. It seems like that is all they're good for. I love 'em, but I hate 'em. You know what I mean?

Are there any spiritual lessons in your team losing its first home divisional playoff game? Maybe. Let's see.

• "The best offense is a great defense." The old saying held true for this game. In the game of life, you must put your faith in the One who can defend against Satan's attacks. We cannot go it alone and expect to gain victory in the end.
• "Turnovers kill you." The titanic stumble of this game was the Titans' knack for turning the ball over. When you fumble away chances to spread the good news of Jesus, you cannot expect to gain true victory.
• "Sidelining your star player is a sure way to defeat." Chris Johnson's injured ankle proved to be an insurmountable problem for our mighty Titans. Our backup plans are no good. Father is our star player and has all the skills. We cannot allow him to sit on the sidelines while we try to play the game of life on our own. 
• "The refs can help or hurt in major ways." The refs seemed to be a bit blind on a few key plays--especially that no-call on delay of game on the Ravens' game-winning drive. In life, the Enemy will use any and all "unfair" tactics to win. (He even uses religious people, too!)

I know it was a stretch to make a spiritual parallel to tonight's loss. Jesus taught us to look for Him in all things. I guess this is a way I can see Him in a Titan-ic loss. I have to remind myself that as a follower of Jesus, my reaction to football games can say a lot to the world about what I value. Acting a fool when we win or getting fighting mad when we lose can make Jesus look like an idiot. We must remember that the only thing that matters--the ONLY thing--is Jesus and our relationship to him.

Simply,

Jason