Reckless With Our Praise
Did you know it is possible to be reckless with our rejoicing and praise? Consider the fate of this poor LA Dodgers fan who accidntally blew off most of his hand while celebrating their 2024 World Series victory.
A World Series celebration Wednesday night turned tragic for one Dodgers fan ... who blew off their hand while lighting a firework in the streets of L.A.
The horrifying incident happened in downtown just minutes after the Dodgers beat the Yankees in Game 5 -- and it was all, unfortunately, captured on video. ...
The explosion caused a fireball that engulfed the man ... and moments later, he could be seen stumbling away from the smoke in what appeared to be a state of shock. ...
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Dept. tells TMZ Sports ... first responders got to the scene at 2:30 AM Thursday -- and found the 25-year-old conscious and alert, but suffering from bilateral hand wounds. ...His injuries have been described as debilitating, but not life-threatening.
A UK media outlet, UNILAD, put it this way:
Seeing your favorite sports teams win is a sense of pure euphoria, and there are many different ways fans can celebrate the occasion.
Whether it be a pint in the pub with your pals after the big game, or going the extra mile and making a night out of that all important victory that puts your team on the right path.
Setting off a firework to mark a victory is certainly a new one on me, however, with one Dodgers fan doing such as he celebrated their World Series MLB victory over the New York Yankees.
WARNING: The graphic video is very hard to watch.
Looks like this poor Dodgers fan was pretty reckless with praise ...
Earthly joy and celebration are all part of the gift of being human. Such experiences, can, as the journalist above observed, bring us a sense of pure euphoria. Yet such experiences were never intended to be our sole, or even primary object of our praise and celebration. That role is reserved for God alone.
So don't be reckless with your praise! Enjoy this life and all its joys, all while recognizing that all praise, all glory, all "real" celebration, belongs to your Maker.
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2: 9, ESV).
"Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!" (Psalm 150:1-5, ESV).
"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods" (Psalm 95:1-3).
A Cleverly Disguised Christian
Fox News reports:
One of the top running backs in the nation and a Heisman Trophy favorite, [Ashton] Jeanty recently sat down with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to discuss the "ultimate transformation" he underwent and how he credits his faith for that change. ... "I like to say that I’m a Christian cleverly disguised as an All-American running back," Jeanty.
"I’ve learned that God has blessed me with amazing talents. I’ve just been able to do a lot of great things with it, but at the same time, not losing yourself in it and understanding that my identity is in Christ." ... "Once I decided to give my life to Him and change my ways, it’s been an ultimate transformation," Jeanty said.
"You don’t have to be perfect to come to God, but all you have to do is trust in Him and have faith in Him, and He will change your life. I feel that everything that I’m doing now is because of that. Obviously, I’ve been able to do some great things on the field, but beyond that, He’s changed my life. He’s changed my views, my personality. I felt that I wasn’t really a man before. I was just a boy. But now I feel as I’m a man and a man of God."
Are you a football player (or egineer, or doctor, or homemaker, or janitor) who happens to be a Christian? Or are you a Christian cleverly disguised as (insert profession here)?
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20, ESV).
"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect" (Romans 12:2, NLT).
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Living on a Cliff
Young adults are getting used to living on a financial cliff. As of February 2024, NBC News reports:
The net worth of Americans ages 18-39 surged by 80% from the start of 2019 to the third quarter of last year, Federal Reserve Bank of New York research shows, blowing past the rates for older generations.
But much of the gains are from investments that climbed alongside stock markets and largely don’t translate into disposable income. And while many millennials (ages 28-43, according to Pew Research) — and plenty of their Gen Z near-peers (12-27) — are pulling in bigger paychecks, they’re still pumping that cash into pricier everyday expenses, from essentials like rent to luxuries like leisure travel. …
That mentality isn’t exclusive to young people. A “revenge spending” bonanza driven by FOMO, stimulus checks and built-up savings helped power the post-pandemic recovery, and consumer spending has kept chugging above expectations despite higher prices.
The financial peril this FOMO ("fear of missing out) mentality is akin to building your house on the edge of a cliff. It might have be a beautiful view of the ocean, but, in time, wind, rain, and erosion will see that big, beautiful home sliding down into the crashing waves below.
Life on the edge — each day full of dazzling views, deeply inspiring, exciting, without regard for the potential failure. Each day, the cliff's edge creeps ever closer, until your house — your life — lays a pile of rubble on the ocean floor.
They had their "best life" for a moment, but the edge’s nearness drew upon them faster than they ever expected.
We are not to use this life to craft and spend our time, money and resources on earthly experiences that bring joy and pleasure in the here and now — big houses, trendy travel, lavish lifestyles. We don’t have to live our best life now. We have eternity!
Let's not invest in and spend on the things that will all too soon drop off the edge of a cliff. Our calling is to invest in the kingdom to come!
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33, NIV).
"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17, NIV).
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock" (Matthew 17:24-25, NIV).