Get Real!

Let me begin by saying that I love sports. I thoroughly enjoy watching baseball and college football. I like to bowl and play basketball, but rarely have time to do so. As I've mentioned, I run several times a week. My favorite baseball team is having a great season so far; I'm hoping they make it through the playoffs and win the World Series. Several years ago, I yielded to my curiosity and put together a team in a fantasy baseball league. It was fun, but not necessarily tied to the actual teams playing on the field, just the performance of individual players. I realized after two seasons that that the fantasy league was taking time away from my marriage and preparation for my job. The fantasy league was just that - fantasy! Yet it asserted an impact on my real life. I stopped playing fantasy sports. A lot of people still play fantasy sports. Whole magazines and radio stations are devoted to helping them succeed. If people can manage their time and relationships well, no problem exists. Be alert, however, to what happens in real life. I don't usually quote from The Message paraphrase of the Bible, but its rendition of a passage in Galatians 5 hits the mark in this discussion:

"It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom."

Pay attention to relationships at home, in your community of faith, and at work. Keep fantasy under control. Focus on helping real people in concrete and appropriate ways. Get real!