3 Lessons Learned From the Big Game

I'm not an avid sports fan. Nascar is a bit too reflective of my life: going in circles and getting nowhere, with an occasional crash to make things exciting. Hockey is too bloody. Synchronized swimming is too tedious.

Every once in awhile, though, someone will invite me to a party to watch the Game That Shall Not Be Named. I'll pick a team and make an effort to follow downs and conversions and whatnot. Like other non-spectators, I'm only there for the food. And the commercials.

But there are 3 spiritual lessons we can learn from the Big Game.

Sometimes we just need to hunker down. What are they called? Defensive linemen? Their job is to put their heads down and push through to sack the quarterback. They don't generally move forward, but heaven forbid they move backward!

Sometimes life is like that, isn't it? We hunker down and hope against hope we can hold the line.

To move forward, you have to look up. I don't mean look to God in heaven. I just mean look up. Down the field. Down the road. The QB takes a few steps back and looks up. His job is to move the ball down the field. Sometimes we need to hunker down, but sometimes we need to look up, look to the future.. That's the only way we'll get anywhere.

You can't stay on defense. Commentators will tell you this team or that team has a weak defense, but the truth is that even the best defense will lose the game if the team stays on defense. Defense doesn't score.

Many things in this life can put us on the defensive. We can choose to wallow in it, or let it go. Staying on the defensive may protect your heart for awhile, but it won't serve in the long run.

A few things to think about as you crunch tortilla chips and cheer for your team. I'm from Pennsylvania, so I have to say, "Fly, Eagles, fly!" But really, it's all about the commercials.