Go Royals!

It’s late.  It’s past 10pm…almost 10:30.  The Royals are about to win the AL Central Division tonight.  That’s the reason we’re still up watching TV.  We’ve kind of become Royals fans, in part because of their proximity to Wichita, and part because our older son has been a fan for many years and attends many of the home games along with Lauren, our daughter –in-law.

Why is it that we become so enamored with things such as professional sports teams?  Is there something about living vicariously here?  Or maybe it’s the idea that we are part of something that is winning.  And the opposite can be true as well.  A poor team that loses many times has its followers who perpetually say, “Wait until next year.”  And we love even the losers.  Could it be diversion from the routine of life?  Or maybe it IS life for some of us.

I don’t know what it is that keeps my wife and me up later than we should be.  But whatever it is, it sort of has a hold on us with this Royals team.  We’ve come to know more about many of the players than we usually do with teams such as this.  There’s something, well, fun about watching these guys.  And it’s something we can watch on TV that isn’t violent, immoral, or otherwise decadent.

I’m afraid, sadly, that is one of the reasons we watch sports events.  It’s still wholesome (for the most part) TV.  We don’t have to worry about what’s coming.  We are watching a known quantity.  And we appreciate the opportunity to watch something that is appropriate for a Christian family environment.

So, bring on the playoffs, and bring on the World Series!  We’ll be right there, if not in the stadium, we’ll be there through the magic of television.  Go Royals!

Labor Day

So, it’s Labor Day 2015.  And again, as we have done for many years, the family will gather in one place to eat, visit, play, and catch up with the rapidly-growing nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews, and grandkids.  It will be hot, but we will be outside for at least some of the day.  We like horseshoes, croquet, and some of those old-timey things like that.  The banshees will run around, ride the electric cars, and maybe play in the water…or even the mud.

We tend to forget the original reason for Labor Day, and I guess there’s not much wrong with that.  I’m not certain there ever should have been a holiday to remember the “working man” in this country in the first place.  And now that it has become a three-day weekend to usher out the summer, it seems that’s fine with me.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’ve been a “working man” all my life.  And so have those in my family.  But isn’t that what we’re SUPPOSED to do?  Do we need a holiday to remember those who do what they are supposed to do?  You may disagree, and that’s OK.  I just think we could have chosen something more appropriate if we needed a holiday the first part of September.

The Good Book says we are to work with our hands (Paul to the Thessalonians).  It also says we are to work willingly, as unto the Lord (Paul to the Colossians).  And it says that if one is not willing to work, they should not eat (Paul to the Thessalonians again).  The wise man says in Ecclesiastes that whatever a man’s hand finds to do, he is to do it with all his might.

The Bible has a lot to say about work.  The passages are plain and understandable.  They make sense.  They are appropriate.  They tell us that we were made to work.  We were made to be productive.   We were made to accomplish something in our lives.  Everything works better when we all contribute in some way.

So this Labor Day, if you celebrate, take just a moment and think about God’s words to you regarding work and labor.  And thank Him for the opportunity you have to fulfill those words.