Some say God may have a problem on Super Bowl Sunday!
When the Chiefs advanced to the Super Bowl, both Patrick Mahomes and owner Clark Hunt thanked God for their victory. And when Brock Purdy and his 49ers punched their ticket to the Big Game, he also gave glory to God for their victory.
They’re not alone.
When the Rams won the Super Bowl in 2000 with a dramatic finish, Kurt Warner said, “Well, first things first, I gotta give the praise and glory to my Lord and Savior up above: thank you Jesus!”
Then there’s Bubba Watson who in 2012 after winning the Masters golf tournament said, “I’ve got to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” as the green jacket hung fresh on his shoulders.
Lionel Messi put it bluntly after Argentina beat France in the recent World Cup — “I knew that God was going to give it to me. I had a premonition that it was going to be this way.”
Does God really care who wins the Super Bowl, the World Cup or the Masters?
Some believe God is partisan. Back in 2015, 53 percent of Americans believed that God rewards religious athletes. At that time, one in four Americans believed that God played a role in which team won a game. If that percentage still stood today, 28.25 million of the estimated 113 million viewers of last year’s Super Bowl believed that God set it up for the Chiefs to win.
Now, before you think I’m running down some great athletes and questioning folk’s faith — relax. My faith is no better or worse. And I guarantee you I can’t throw a football like Mahomes and Purdy. In fact, there’s often more to these victory quotes than you’ll see on ESPN.
Eighteen years after winning the Super Bowl, Kurt Warner said this at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony — “Many felt that I was thanking him (God) for orchestrating a Super Bowl win, or making my passes fly straighter, or causing my opponents to make more mistakes. But those people had it all wrong.” He went on to say that his words were a way of expressing gratitude for all that Jesus had done for him throughout his life.
So this Sunday I’ll have my Chief’s sweat shirt on. Others at our watch party will be rooting for Purdy and his 49ers. And Taylor Swift — well, she’ll be doing her Swifty thing!
So what will God be doing? Will He even watch the game? Probably not, but this one fact I know — “From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind.” Psalm 33:13.
This Sunday, like every Sunday, God will be watching Mahomes, Purdy, Kelce, Kittle, the 65,000 plus people in Allegiant Stadium, the more than 100 million watching on TV — and you! And His heart for all of us is this, “I have come that they (you) may have life, and that they (you) may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
Super Bowl rings tarnish & moths eat green jackets, but the abundant life that God desires for you and I can make us all winners. So perhaps God is partisan. He’s rooting for you!