Let me say at the outset, I am an unabashed Auburn fan. There are very few, and I mean VERY FEW things that I have loved as long, or as much, as the Auburn Tigers. For that reason, it is a bit painful to rehearse the cause of this article. However, it is because of the pain related to this specific issue, that I am able to reevaluate my own weakness, my all too frequent pursuit of fleeting pleasures, and the real joy that is available to me in Christ.
In case you missed it, here are the facts. Auburn is 10-0. They are ranked #2 in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Poll. Their quarterback is on track to win the most lop-sided Heisman race in history. And they are three games away from securing a spot in the national championship game. These are the facts. They are undisputed. But here's the rub; there looms on the horizon a dark cloud of Eeyore proportions. You see, allegations of possible NCAA violations regarding the previously mentioned Heisman contending quarterback are growing louder by the day. At best, at least from my vantage point, these allegations will be proven false. Auburn will be vindicated. Their quarterback will leap the final tall buildings of the season, fly happily into the sunset, and leave the cheering Auburn throngs with an undefeated and unblemished national championship. Worst case, the allegations will prove true, leaving the 2010 football season in shambles, the future of Auburn football uncertain, and the hearts of Auburn people everywhere broken.
So where does that leave us, those who love the Auburn Tigers, those who despise them, and those who couldn't care less? As I've reflected on the current situation, I've been reminded of three things. First, human beings everywhere are bent toward wrong. Whether it is deceiving and cheating to get ahead or slandering someone else in order to bolster our own appearance or standing, humans will not only find a way, it is our way. Our actions and attitudes are reprehensible because we are corrupt by nature. We sin because we are sinners. Second, human beings will consistently and constantly strive to fill their lives with peace and happiness by means of things that were never meant to fulfill them, and are incapable of producing anything but a momentary high or escape. We know it to be true, yet we all struggle to put to rest the chasing of the wind. Finally, the reason human beings are left empty, in spite of our deception and striving, is because soul-satisfying joy can only be produced by God through His Son Jesus Christ. Because we are broken and undone, only intervention by an outside source can cause us to experience real life. The first few verses of Ephesians 2 say it like this, "And you were dead in the trespass and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."
I deeply hope the rumors surrounding my beloved Auburn Tigers are untrue. But, as the mill churns them out, and I am reminded of the sinfulness of man and my own pursuit of fleeting pleasures, my confidence grows with the knowledge that my deliverance, my standing, my future, and my joy have been secured in Jesus Christ.
War Eagle my Brother! I, like you, have an unabashed love for all things Auburn! I pray that Cam is the victim of some unfounded slanderous attempt to discredit him, and not guilty of the allegations.
ReplyDeleteRon Warner
Decatur, Al.