NFL Takes Over

NFL football returns tonight as the season kicks off with a Super Bowl rematch between the Seahawks and the Patriots. I can’t wait to watch the game, but admittedly it does seem weird that the season is starting on a Wednesday night. Isn’t the NFL meant for Sundays?

Of course not! Sports fans love the NFL and keep wanting more, and the league keeps giving us more all week.

The NFL started as a sport played only on Sundays. Then in 1970, the league added a weekly matchup for Monday Night Football. In 2006, they added games to another day of the week with Thursday Night Football. 

The NFL wants to be part of fans' lives on as many days of the week (and platforms) as possible, as long as fans welcome it into their living rooms and man caves. So in recent years they’ve also played games on Wednesdays and Fridays, and late in each season they’ve made their presence known on Saturdays in December.

This year, there's a matchup on Thanksgiving Eve, three on Thanksgiving, and one on Black Friday, plus three games on Christmas Day, which is on a Friday. The NBA used to be the main focus for sports fans on Christmas Day, but the NFL is now taking that over.

Also, because of a late Labor Day this year and the season starting after that holiday, the Super Bowl will now be played on Valentine’s Day, taking over as the focal point of that day, right?!

Many fans are thrilled to enjoy more football more often beyond Sundays, and according to The Athletic, here are the teams we’ll be seeing the most of:

“The teams with the most games scheduled on days other than Sunday are the Seahawks, Rams, Buffalo Bills, and Chicago Bears, with six each. Conversely, five teams are scheduled only on Sundays, including the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, and Arizona Cardinals.”

We know the NFL wants the whole week, every holiday, and constant fan attention.

We also know that some fans only want their football on Sunday and don’t want the NFL taking over every night of the week. They don’t want their whole life to involve football, just a little bit.

But for others, they are all-in on the NFL and their lives revolve around the games. No night, holiday, or time slot is off limits because they love the NFL. They willingly give up whatever they need to have a full slate of NFL games.

At UNPACKIN’ it, we love football, but we don’t want it to take over our lives. Instead, we want Jesus to take over our lives, so everything revolves around Him, and He's our focus.

I wonder, though: are we giving Him our whole lives and all of ourselves, or do we give Him only Sundays for church? Are there certain “days of the week” that we don’t want Him to have, or are we allowing Him to be a part of everything we do? Do we want more and more of Him?

When we put our faith in Jesus and live a surrendered life as His follower, He isn’t just involved a little bit. He completely takes over who we are and how we operate. 

Paul writes in Galatians 2:20 (AMP), “I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

So, are we relying on Christ every day of the week? Are we embracing His presence within us everywhere we go? Do we still have certain “time slots” we are unwilling to change and are off-limits for us to surrender to Him?

Or do we desire for our lives to be a “full slate” with the things of God and willingly give up whatever we need to?

After all, Jesus gave Himself up for us on the cross, so we should be willing to sacrifice anything He asks of us. His taking over everything is for our best, because true life is found in Him, and His motivations are pure and rooted in His love for us.

For our lives to be all about God and a proper response to His love for us, we have to love Him with all we have. 

Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-38 (ESV), “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”

As we love Him, we want more of Him, and we worship Him with our lives, not just on Sundays. We also give Him our full trust with our whole heart, not just our trust on Sundays.

Proverbs 3:5 (ESV) tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

We also let God take over our minds so our thinking aligns with Him, as the Bible says we "...take every thought captive to obey Christ…" (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Today, as we celebrate the start of the NFL season and recognize that the league continues to take over days of the week and become more prevalent in sports fans' lives, let's first be diligent about not letting the sport consume us.

Let’s enjoy it, but more importantly, let’s continue to surrender every day, every thought, every desire, and all that we are to Jesus. Let’s invite Him to take over in every way.

I’m Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, forgive me for being too consumed with other things in life. I desire to surrender every part of me and every aspect of my life to You. Please take over fully and help me submit to Your leading and guidance. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.