How God Views Religion Series

Introduction

In The Washington Post on February 2, 2018, Bob Smietana wrote an article titled, “For Tom Brady, Football has Become Religion. No, Really.” He noted that Tom Brady, quarterback for the New England Patriots (at that time), is on a spiritual quest.

Football has become Brady’s religion, said Gotham Chopra, a filmmaker whose latest project is “Tom vs. Time,” a behind-the-scenes documentary series about the quarterback’s preparations for that past NFL season.

“What’s really at the epicenter of it is this devotional love for the game,” Chopra said. “It is his vocation—it’s what gives his life meaning and purpose.”

“I do want to know the whys in life,” Brady said in a version of the spiritual episode, according to the New York Times. “I do want to know why we’re here, where we’re going; trying to find that deeper purpose. To live it, through sports in a very authentic way, makes so much sense to me.”

For Chopra, son of best-selling spiritual writer Deepak Chopra and a devoted Boston sports fan, seeing sports as religion makes sense. Both create community, have saints and rituals, and take place on hallowed ground.

And—in a polarized nation—both can unite disparate groups of people, at least for a few hours. At least, that is how Bob Smietana views religion and sports.

One of the great challenges we face is how to worship God. All people have an understanding that there is a God and that he is to be worshiped. But because people are in rebellion against God, we tend to want to worship either the god we fashion (like Tom Brady does) or to worship the true God in the way we fashion. And yet God has told us that we are to worship him in the way that he has prescribed in Scripture. We call that the Regulative Principle of Worship.

Amos was sent by God to speak to his covenant people in the northern kingdom of Israel. Earlier in his ministry, Amos had pointed out the problems with the surrounding nations. One could understand how one of God’s prophets would speak out against pagan nations. What surprised the people of God is that Amos had a message from God for them—and it was not a pleasant message.

The people of Israel (and Judah) were experiencing tremendous prosperity. And they believed that was a sign of God’s blessing on them. As far as they were concerned, God was blessing them because they were very religious. The problem, however, was that they were determining how to worship God. And God was not pleased with their self-determined worship. Let us learn how God views religion.

Scripture

Let us read Amos 4:1-5:17:

1 “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan,

who are on the mountain of Samaria,

who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,

who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that

we may drink!’

2 The Lord God has sworn by his holiness

that, behold, the days are coming upon you,

when they shall take you away with hooks,

even the last of you with fishhooks.

3 And you shall go out through the breaches,

each one straight ahead;

and you shall be cast out into Harmon,”

declares the Lord.

4 “Come to Bethel, and transgress;

to Gilgal, and multiply transgression;

bring your sacrifices every morning,

your tithes every three days;

5 offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that

which is leavened,

and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them;

for so you love to do, O people of Israel!”

declares the Lord God.

6 “I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities,

and lack of bread in all your places,

yet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.

7 “I also withheld the rain from you

when there were yet three months to

the harvest;

I would send rain on one city,

and send no rain on another city;

one field would have rain,

and the field on which it did not rain

would wither;

8 so two or three cities would wander to another city

to drink water, and would not be satisfied;

yet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.

9 “I struck you with blight and mildew;

your many gardens and your vineyards,

your fig trees and your olive trees the locust

devoured;

yet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.

10 “I sent among you a pestilence after the

manner of Egypt;

I killed your young men with the sword,

and carried away your horses,

and I made the stench of your camp go

up into your nostrils;

yet you did not return to me,”

declares the Lord.

11 “I overthrew some of you,

as when God overthrew Sodom and

Gomorrah,

and you were as a brand plucked out of

the burning;