Super Bowling?

Are You “Super Bowling” Everyday Life?

Feb 5, 2021 Stepping Stones devotion from Lighthouse Network.org. Shared with permission.

Transformational Thought

Super Bowl Sunday has basically become a national holiday. With 120+ million viewers, it’s the most-watched TV show, charging $5 million for a 30-second commercial. It is second to Thanksgiving as the day the most food is eaten. On this day record numbers of employees “call-out-sick.” One billion wings are eaten, the most pizzas are ordered and guacamole is eaten, and it’s one of the heaviest beer, soda, and chip consumption days. Tragically, Super Bowl Sunday is also the worst day of the year for gambling, domestic violence, and sex trafficking. 

The Super Bowl itself is an unbelievable event … so much emotion, buildup, and expectations. The winner is remembered and worshipped forever, and the loser is branded a choker … forever, unless they get back to the Super Bowl again and win. The commercials, halftime mega-shows, plays, players, and personalities are seared in our minds or become societal icons.

One Super Bowl a year is enough, just ask my wife. Can you imagine if we had 4 a year, one per month, or heaven forbid, weekly Super Bowls? We would be overwhelmed, on edge, emotionally spent, fed up, bankrupt, hung-over, and paralyzed on a regular basis.

But you see, life can be viewed the same way. We have “Super Bowl” events … meeting God, getting married, birth of a child, losing a close loved one, starting day 1 on our dream job, taking grand vacations, starting school, helping a child leave for college, learning a child has a disability, having an affair, experiencing divorce, getting fired, coping with a natural disaster, 9/11. You get the idea … they don’t happen every week (for anybody). Then we have some “playoff game” events whose immediate and long-term impact are important but smaller than the Super Bowl events. Some other life events rank on the very-important-regular-season-game level. And most other events have the importance and impact of a preseason game

Brace yourself for a reality check, 98% of your day, your life, is either a regular season game or even a preseason game in level of importance and impact. The problem: we react to many of our daily events as if they had the importance and impact of a Super Bowl or playoff game. Need some proof? Just look at how intense your reactions are to small things in your day that you won’t even remember a couple days later. They aren’t that important? Unlike Super Bowl big plays, we forget most issues in our life within 1-15 days. 

We can’t handle the emotional rollercoaster of 6 Super Bowls a year, let alone 3 Super Bowls a day. But for many, the emotional reaction to several events in a day is fairly extreme. We tend to elevate that event to major impact level when it really isn’t, especially when we don’t get our way or our planned agenda isn’t happening. While few people are “drama queens,” most people fall into the Super Bowl mentality trap. We erroneously feel many things in life are all-important and react to them as life-changing, when they actually aren’t.

Patients, both male and female, tell me they’ve been impacted by one question I’ve asked, namely, “Does that event really rate the ‘Super Bowl’ level of importance you are giving it?” That question really helps people gain a more eternal, realistic, and Godly perspective about everyday events.

Today, remember that Super Bowl-magnitude events usually occur once, twice, or maybe three times a year. So look at how you react to minor daily disruptions and ask yourself, “Is this situation really a Super Bowl event in magnitude and long term impact, or am I having an exaggerated response?” If you are inappropriately “Super Bowling” it, ask yourself “Why?” and “How often do I do this?” and “Am I becoming dependent on something that, when taken away, seems like a Super Bowl level loss to me?” Parents, you’ll probably be amazed as you contemplate your reactions to your kid’s behavior. Whether you see each day’s events from a Godly, realistic perspective or you over-react and Super Bowl the minor events of your day is your decision, so choose well.

Prayer

Dear Father God, thanks for being sovereign over all things. This truth, and my faith in Your sovereignty gives me such peace in most situations. I confess though, that sometimes I over-react to the spiritual warfare and minutiae of the day and give them a Super Bowl level of importance. Give me discernment and the Mind of Christ to realize what really is important and what isn’t. I pray this in the name of the greatest “Super Bowl” event of all time, Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection; And all God’s children say – AMEN!

The Truth

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Luke 12:25,26

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:15-17

The post Are You “Super Bowling” Everyday Life? appeared first on Lighthouse Network.

Until next time…”May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)

Bill