I always get a little angry this time of the year. It is the time when the "dog days" of summer seem to drone on in the sports world. Baseball is in that time that they just play game after game. Golf this year has lost some of its luster with Tiger not playing. But I become angry because this is the time of the year that football players and basketball players are signing their new multi-million dollar contracts. I love sports, and enjoy watching the best of the best play. However the money these people receive is obscene. A headline on MSN this morning reads, "Hornets steal key Celtics player for $25M." Twenty-five million dollars to play basketball?!?! And that is a steal. Some players make three and four times that amount and more.

Maybe I'm a little sensitive because I talk to the people who come to our church day in and day out looking for a sandwich because they are hungry. Maybe I'm a little sensitive because I see the sacrifices families are making simply to get their children to music practice, ball practices, and church with the gas prices pushing $4 a gallon. Maybe I'm a little sensitive because I believe the superstars of the playing fields and hardwood courts seem to consistently show they lack moral and social integrity. Maybe I'm a little sensitive because we have put so much limelight on the few and not enough limelight on the many. When will the limelight shine on those who work hard every day to raise their families to grow strong, and prosper in the ways that lead to life eternal?

Part of the real problem is that each one of us pays a portion of those salaries. Our priorities are mis-aligned. With every hat, jacket, t-shirt, ticket we buy we perpetuate the problem. I know that writing a blog on a church website will not change the attitude of the world, and multi-million dollar deals are going to continue to be inked, but I want to encourage all those who are continuing to struggle to always do the right thing. Raising your family in the midst of difficult times and looking for ways to cut corners so you can turn what you have into greatness. It is the patience we spoke about on Sunday morning. The Hupomone', not to simply endure or outlast, but to create goodness in the midst of the struggle. As Joshua said to the Israelites, "We are never in the battle alone. God is with us." Keep fighting the good fight, and know you are being seen by the One who matters most.

On the journey together,
Grace and peace,
Pastor Kirk