There are two things we absolutely crave in our lives: predictability and spontaneity.
We crave the comfort of predictability. We work long and hard to grow life in a steady job, a certain career, a consistent source of income. We earn degrees, save money, buy insurance, invest for retirement.
We have a home, a family, a schedule, which gives structure and meaning to our days and nights. We build our lives on the secure foundation of predictability.
But conversely, we also crave spontaneity. We hunger for those unexpected moments that bring uncontained joy and unconstrained excitement to our day-to-day existence. We ache to be astonished and amazed. That is why God made sports channels.
There is nothing like the unscripted, uncut, unpredictable moment-to-moment excitement of a live sporting event — whether it is football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, tennis, golf, bowling or curling. That adrenalin anticipation is why we are looking to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The Super Bowl brings family and friends together. It lets us eat lots of good-tasting, bad-for-you food. It is just plain fun. And as a sporting event it has absolutely no predictable outcome. Your team might win big, or your team might lose by a whisker.
Bad calls, nasty weather, one momentary misstep can change everything. Even though the game is ordered by rules and stopwatches, guarded by referees and instant replays, it is still an anything-can-happen event.
Life is unfair and unpredictable. We try to tame life’s uncertainties with long-range plans and short-term check-lists. But it’s the very uncertainty of life that makes every day such fun and so frightening. It is the reason why faith drives us to utter dependence upon God’s promises, provisions and providence.
Thanks to Leonard Sweet for sharing. Thanks to Dave Adamson for the picture.
How do YOU crave predictability and spontaneity?
I AM AN IMPERFECT PERSON LOVED BY A PERFECT GOD!!
