“All I know most surely about morality and obligation I owe to football”,
Relying on God.
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD. ISAIAH 31:1It is easy to dismiss this verse as having no relevance to us. It may have been a problem for Isaiah and his generation that they were tempted to make military alliances with nations that did not respect God but what has that to do with us?
I would suggest that we have the same temptations but they are more subtle. From where do we seek help? Well in the Western world we often don’t. We are pretty self- sufficient. We have a house, a car, money in the bank so why would we need help? If we are ill, we have good hospitals and medical insurance to deal with the problem. It has been said that the biggest need we have is to feel any need. We cannot artificially create a sense of need.
Somehow, we need to cultivate an attitude of dependence on God. That starts by acknowledging how fortunate we are to have all that we do and to recognize it as a gift from God. We should acknowledge God as the source of our well-being. Hard though it is, we should seek to cultivate an attitude of dependence on God – not on horses, chariots, cars, houses, pensions, investments, status or achievements.
“God have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13) is a good place to start.