Fanatics

 “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

This didn’t really happen, but it is a joke that has been going around about two of soccer’s greatest stars, Leonard Messi and Cristiano Reynaldo. In an interview, Reynaldo is said to have boasted, “God sent me down to earth to teach people how to play soccer.” When Messi was asked to react to the statement, he pronounced, “I don’t remember sending him!”

Many people look up to sports stars, celebrities and now even influencers as their gods. They put up posters on their walls, follow the way they dress or put on make up, have their names or faces tattooed on their bodies.

A Manchester United fan jumped to his death after his team lost to Newcastle United. A fan sent Jared Leto his severed ear. Dolly Parton had to care for a baby left on her doorstep till the Department of Health and Human Services arrived. The note said the newly born baby was named Jolene, and left by her momma because she wanted Dolly to look after it. Some fans are so obsessed they will do anything to be just like their idol. One teenager broke her foot when Jessie J injured her leg while rehearsing for a performance. She sent Jessie J photos to prove it. A super fan changed her name to Mrs. Kanye West when tattooing his face on her arm and derrière was not enough to claim his attention. 

None of these is as bad as how the Hebrews used to worship Baal during the time of the great prophet Elijah. They would sacrifice their children alive in fire, and actively engage in unholy activities in Baal’s pagan temples. So frustrated was Elijah, that he summoned the 400 priests of Baal to a challenge. This led to one of the most dramatic miracles in the Bible.

After that, all the people had no choice but to see that Baal was just a straw god, with no power, and no ears. It was obvious that Elijah’s God was the real, one true God, all powerful and mighty. But the real question was, would they abandon their unclean pagan ways to follow the true God? Sometimes we too straddle between believing in a God who requires obedience and faithfulness, and wanting to go our own way. We have to be like Joshua who said with firm resolve, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)