Where Them God Fans At?

For anyone who knows me, you know that I am a Swiftie. I am absolutely obsessed with Taylor Swift. I have every song, posters in my dorm room, went to her concert in Chicago for my senior trip with my best friend, and if you see me driving around town, there is a 99.9% chance Taylor Swift is being played in my car.

I also follow her on every social media I have, and she posted her first clue for her fifth album today. I even wore red and listened to the entire Red album again to commemorate the end of an era. (All you Swifties out there: you know what I'm talking about.) You know I will be first in line at midnight of it's release date. Oh, and it will for sure be pre-ordered on iTunes.

When people ask who my favorite artist is, or what I listen to, and I say Taylor Swift, I usually get 1 of 2 reactions. Either people are like, a)"Oh my gosh I LOVE her!" or b) "Wow, I can't believe how musically uneducated you are. I don't like her at all." There's almost never a middle ground.

So I've been made fun of and viewed differently by some people for being a Swiftie. But an unashamed Swiftie I remain.

Here's my point: our culture demands that we attach ourselves to popular trends. These can include music, movies, or people. People are obsessed with finding the next big thing, talking about their favorite aspect of pop culture, following reality shows, etc. And when we are a fan of something, we are die-hard loyalists.

But what do you say when people ask what you believe in? And no, I'm not talking about political stances, morality, or anything of the like. What do you say when people ask what your religion is? If you are a Christian, do you let them know you have a personal relationship with a God who loves us and has a designed each of us for a specific purpose, or do you shuffle your feet and mumble some jargon about kind of believing in some ultimate power, but not really? Are you worried they will ridicule you for liking something different than them?

When did it become ok to believe more in a human person than our God? And when did it become acceptable to follow broken people who exploit the industry for millions, yet we can't even follow the one who died for us that we might have eternal life? (John 3:16)

I'm not saying it's wrong to be a fan. We all need people to look up to. Some of mine are Taylor Swift, Russell Wilson, Tim Tebow, Jennie Finch, Lauren Chamberlain, and Richard Sherman, to name a few. (I love sports. Could you tell?)

But it is wrong when these people become idols. Not only people, but things can become idols as well. Some I have struggled with are softball and success in school.

Keeping these things and people from dethroning God in our lives can be hard. But God calls us to put him above all earthly things. In the words of Paul, "Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry." (1 Corinthians 10:14)

There are two points I'm trying to make out of this blog post. Idols are anything that get between God and us, and become more important than Him. Part of being a Christian is doing our best to keep God above these potential idols. And two, if we are truly Christians, then we are God's fans. Why don't we cheer for him as much as we do our icons?

I am a die-hard Seattle Seahawks fan. I have been from day one, and have ridden the roller coaster with them. I went through the Hasselbach/Alexander era, the 2005 disappointment, and the slump after. I watched year after year in wait, and can not even express in words how good it felt to see a team I followed and poured an emotional investment (and often times my lost voice) into for years win the Super Bowl!

Do we invest that much of our lives into our Christianity?

God calls us to even more than that. It is not just for a season. Our walk with Him is meant to enrapture us with every breath, and every second of the day. He wants to walk every step with us, through all the good and bad times.

We are God's sports team. He cheers us on, invests in us emotionally, and watches over us. He wants us to succeed, and watches us fail time and time again. But, those moments we are victorious, he is right there to tell us he knew we could do it the whole time. He never loses faith in us. "The Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6)

We have the King of the universe as our biggest fan.

The least we could do is proclaim to the world that we are His fans as well.


DTI