Paul, of the Bible, wrote of the last days:
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. —2 Timothy 3:2-7 (KJV)
Not all people fall into this category. There are millions of people who are good-hearted and tender-minded who still love their neighbors and care for those around them. They make it a point to reach out to the widow and fatherless and give abundantly to disaster funds to help those who have been devastated by natural disasters, but it seems that the world is dividing into teams to fight the great and final battle between good and evil. It reminds me of a fictitious football game I wrote about in an article in 2015.
The field is wide open; boundary lines crisscross the green and the lights flood the stadium. Suddenly with a tumultuous roar from the stands, two teams, bouncing with energy, bound onto the field. Their jerseys gleam bright in the glaring lights. Jerseys red and jerseys white line up facing each other; stern faces sneer their plans for victory. They pause, as the flag slaps against the sky and "The Star-Spangled Banner” floats majestically into the air. The red team kneels while the white team stands proudly at attention. The stands filled with people reflect the attitude of their teams. The red team's fans sit and eat their hotdogs and drink their sodas, while the white team’s fans stand in hand-over-heart attention until the last note recedes into silence. Then a tremendous roar fills the stadium.
“There will be blood tonight.” The whistle screeches: The kickoff sails into the air, and the game begins. Ten yards forward and 10 yards back. The referee's whistle screams, and his flag shoots into the air, but the game goes on. Nobody stops. He blows again. Nobody stops. He blows again. What is going on? He runs into the melee of players. He is thrown down and would be trampled if the other referee does not drag him from the field.
Some fans stand and scream obscenities at the breach of protocol; some sit back to enjoy the game, which is not like any game they have ever seen; while others limp from the stadium bewildered at the blatant show of disrespect. It could get ugly, and they do not want to be a part of it. They will go home and watch the commentary on the television to find out what someone else will do to correct the situation.
As predicted, it does get ugly. Casualties collapse right and left. The announcers give a play by play: “The red team has lost two key players! The white team is down!” Suddenly, people from the stands flood the field, grabbing jerseys from the fallen players. The game will go on. There are no rules. As the red team gains momentum, many white team players shed their jerseys and trade them for red. Sometimes a red team player carries the ball to the white goal line, and sometimes a white team member carries the ball to the red goal line. The pandemonium increases. Who will win? The light snaps off over the field, but the game goes on. The announcers run onto the field with flashlights to watch and report. Some will report the red team is winning, and more white jerseys will be shed. Some will say the white team is predicted to win, and red jerseys will be traded for white. When will it end? Only the true coach knows. When he calls, his team will come to the bench, and the game will be over. The Bible predicts the white team will be victorious, but that doesn’t matter to the coach of the red team; he is in it for the sake of the game. He enjoys casualties and the pain of his team members.
It is easy in a football game to see who is playing on which team. They have differently colored uniforms, helmets and gear. Their team loyalty is fierce and unyielding. In the battle between good and evil, it is not so easy to see. If you are like me, you sometimes wear the white jersey, and sometimes you wear the red jersey. When I lose my temper and treat others less than what the Savior commanded – “Love thy neighbor as thyself” – I am changing jerseys and allowing the red team to gain yardage toward the goal of being a lover of my own self rather than a lover of God. If I don’t play by His rules and get directions from Him, I am wearing the jersey of the red team.
Of course, we can’t be perfect in this life; we must depend on the grace of the Savior and His magnanimous love for us. The key is desire to play on His team. If we really want to be on His team, we will get our direction from Him and study His rule book, so we know how to play the game as He would play it.
Some think they can play the game by standing in the middle. They don’t want to make decisions and commitments to one side or the other. However, it stands to reason, if you try to stand in the middle of the field when the game is going on, you will get run over by both teams.
It is like the people of Elijah’s time who were trying to stay in the middle ground. They were trying to worship Baal and the Lord. In other words, they wanted to have one foot on one side of the line and one foot on the other side. They wanted one arm in the sleeve of the red jersey and the other in the white. They wanted to be neutral or show allegiance to both teams.
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. —1 Kings 18:21 (KJV)
The Lord likes those who are committed to Him. He would rather His team be enthusiastic about the game. He said:
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. —Revelations 3:15-16 (KJV)
Watching the patterns of the world, we can see the world choosing up sides. It is easier to see the color of the jerseys people wear and whose team they support. Satan’s team members are no longer trying to deceive by wearing the jersey of Christ part of the time. They are willing to step out in public and shout to the world what team they are on. We must stand shoulder to shoulder with our Christian teammates, no matter what tag we wear or from which denomination we come. There are only two teams. We know who will win in the end. I want Christ to be my coach, and I follow a quarterback who doggedly follows the rulebook and listens to the Savior. I am with Joshua of the Bible who said:
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. —Joshua 24:15 (KJV)
