"What it is, is Football"

In case you didn't recognize the title, it's from the popular 1950's Andy Griffith comedy monologue. It was my feeble attempt to draw you into this blog post even if you're one of my blog readers who knows and cares nothing about football. Don't worry. It's not all about football. But I thought I'd share an interesting analogy that came to me when I read a short quote in Monday's sports section. Following a Carolina Panthers victory over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, DeAngelo Williams of the Panthers described the game of football in a way that got right to the heart of the matter. In doing so he simplified the game dramatically.

Ready students? Pay close attention:

"We run the ball," Williams said. "That's what we do. That's Coach [John] Fox ball. But it's not the coaches who make the plays go. Each offensive play is designed to go for a touchdown; each defensive play is designed to get a sack. So it's your will against them, and ours was stronger today."

In other words, if the team on offense were totally dominant, on any particular play, every passer, receiver, runner, and blocker would so overpower their opponent as to result in a clear path to the end zone. But if the team on defense were the totally dominant one they would be able to defuse, frustrate, and render futile every attempt by the offense to advance the ball. In actual games, neither extreme is the reality, no matter how superior one team might be. Even in a blowout, a pass might occasionally be dropped, a powerful runner eventually tackled.

Many sportswriters and others have tried to demonstrate how football or other sports imitate Life. Sometimes they are moderately successful, sometimes their cases fall apart. I believe that Williams has hit the bullseye. In reducing football to its elemental core, he has also aptly portrayed the universal struggle of good versus evil, sometimes known as spiritual warfare.

Since the garden of Eden, when Satan sought to harm God in the only way he was permitted--through exploiting the free will of God's creation--God has relentlessly sought to reconcile sinful Man to Himself. Because God has given Man free will, Satan sees the opportunity to "sack" us, "intercept" our forward passes, or "tackle" us for "no gain." The big difference here is that Satan is already defeated, and has a sorry future awaiting him. This is why Christians speak of victorious living, claiming victory, and similar imagery that evoke a picture of competition--or warfare.

In DeAngelo Williams's quote "So it's your will against them," try substituting "So it's God's will against Satan's." In football, it's the individual player's will (plus ability) that determines success or failure. As Williams says, "But it's not the coaches who make the plays go." The thing many don't realize is the difference between asserting your own willpower rather than submitting to God's will. Fighting spiritual warfare on your own is like playing football without knowing the coach's game plan, or ignoring the quarterback's signals. It dooms you to defeat.

Several years ago, a revival speaker at my church pulled a "gotcha" on the congregation. He asked, "What's the second greatest power in the universe? "Everyone knew that God was first, and most automatically thought of His enemy--THE adversary-- Satan, as "runner-up." But no. The second greatest power in the universe is the believer who, in faith, relies on God to fight the battle for him. One who trusts that, because Christ has already won the ultimate victory, he can withstand all Satan's slings and arrows. This relegates Satan to third place. Unless we unwittingly attribute more power to him than he deserves--as we are so prone to do.

No football player or team can be as confident of victory as the lowliest, most humble Christian can. So maybe football isn't as much like life as it first appears. When the last pages of human history are written and time as we know it expires, only God will remain undefeated.