Your Bracket Busted? Billy Graham Gives March 'Madness' Warning
Did you fill out your brackets and are now feverishly watching March Madness?
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) wants basketball fans to use caution. While the word "madness" can refer to surprise outcomes of the tournament, the organization writes in a Facebook post it also means "behavior or thinking that is very foolish or dangerous."
"The tournament itself isn't the issue. It's where it ranks in your life and what kind of toll it takes on your finances," the BGEA posted. "If making tip-off or winning a game begin to trump your personal relationship with Jesus, then that's very dangerous."
The organization reminds readers about Jesus' command in : "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
"We shouldn't be entangled elsewhere whether that's in sports, fashion, etc. We can unknowingly allow these things to become idols, and encourages us to 'flee from all idolatry,'" they warn.
"Your yearning for God must supersede all other desires," Billy Graham warns.
He has five pointers for life that he hopes Christians will remember as they root on their teams in the NCAA tournament:
1. Shine for Christ. The BGEA writes, even if your team loses, "you're still a light."
"Sure, you can be temporarily glum if your team loses, but don't stay there. Sports should be a hobby, not an obsession. Billy Graham says, 'We've also become obsessed with entertainment and sports and technological gadgets -- things that aren't necessarily wrong in themselves, but in time they can keep us from even thinking about God.'"
Click here for Billy Graham's Answer on being a light.
2. Consider what's really at stake before gambling on a bracket pool. The BGEA writes that greed is at the core of gambling.
"That's what Billy Graham cautions against: 'We need to be on guard against greed … above all we need to make sure our lives are centered in Christ and not on things.'"
Click here for Billy Graham's Answer on gambling
3. Personal connections are rare. The BGEA says even if you know every detail about your favorite player, it's likely he "won't have a clue who you are" if you meet him.
"You cannot have the same personal relationship with sports that you can with Jesus."
Click here for Billy Graham's Answer on knowing Jesus personally.
4. Take note of your heartbeat. The BGEA wants you to examine yourself. If your pastor is running long on Sunday, are you anxious or irritable because a game you're wanting to watch is about to start?
"That's a red flag. Anything can become an idol. Even roundball."
Click here for Billy Graham's Answer on idols.
5. Reserve worship for God. The BGEA says you can compliment basketball players for "finetuning the instrument God gave them."
"But at their core, they're more like the folks officiating the game than Almighty God above. They're human. They're going to blow it at some point. Unlike our Heavenly Father. So remember to keep your faith where it belongs."
Click here for Billy Graham's Answer on how Christ will never fail you.
The BGEA hopes you'll "find peace in the middle of madness."
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