Have you ever opened a milk bottle, slurped it and discovered it was sour, with the bitter consistency of cottage cheese? Football can be a bit like that. Vitriol, petulance and spite seem endemic in this game we love.
The famous Manchester United player Roy Keane has admitted in his autobiography that he deliberately set out to hurt an opponent with a vicious over-the-top tackle. Revenge was the motive, pure and simple. Tackling can be a skilful act of sublime theft but it can also degenerate into plain thuggery. (run mouse over Roy)
And another famous player has complained that he is only earning £35,000 a week! We can only pity the poor lad as he struggles to make ends meet on that kind of salary! You do not need to be a world-famous brain surgeon to understand that football today is consumed by greed, selfishness and violence!
Why has the beautiful game turned so ugly?
To understand this we need to understand the third chapter in the book of Genesis. Modern professional football is full of deals and contracts. Manchester United's famous manager Alex Ferguson is constantly buying and selling players. He is always on the lookout for talented new players and in the summer of 2004 he spent almost £26 million on an English teenager - Wayne Rooney. When a big team like United sign a new player they discuss terms with the player and his agent. They agree upon a salary and the terms of employment. The club makes a promise and the player agrees to fulfil the terms of the contract. It was just like this at the very dawn of time.
In the very beginning God, as the Supreme Supremo of the cosmos, entered into a contract with his human creatures. He said: 'Obey me and you will live happily ever after. Disobey me and you will be miserable and eventually you will die.' As the supreme and all-powerful Gaffer, God had every right to make this kind of deal. In theological terms God entered into a covenant with Adam and Eve; this covenant or treaty contained both a promise and a threat. Obedience would lead to blessing and disobedience would lead to misery and alienation.
Lurking in the wings was another creature who was intrigued by the terms of this covenant. Lucifer, the fallen angel, was delighted to read the precise contents of the big deal and noticed that he could pull off the biggest transfer in the history of the cosmos. Satan realised that he could get hold of every human defender, midfield dynamo or striker through his own considerable cunning and sublime deceit. There was no need for a bung or extravagant transfer fees (e.g. £49 million for Zidane). Money would not be required as the Father of lies pressed home his deadly strategy.
'I'll take the woman first and then Adam will be mine/ mused the ugly, slimy snake. 'If I can force an early goal, the cup will be mine. If I pull this one off I'll win the World Cup every four years and all the best players (humans) will belong to me.'
This is, of course, a ridiculous and tongue in cheek reconstruction of how the devil conspired against God and the human race but it does help us to understand how men and women turned their backs on God and embraced the kingdom of darkness. It's instructive to notice that two covenants are powerfully at work. On the one hand the true King of the world issues his promises and his threats. Obedience will lead to life and blessing. Disobedience will lead to death and cursing. The false usurping king (Satan) is also busy making his promises. Humans will be rewarded if they reject their creator, and believe the serpent's crafty pleadings: 'Believe in me and you will be very happy and become as powerful as God.'
In a sense Adam and Eve were transferred to the worst possible club you could ever imagine. They signed on the dotted lines and it all went pear-shaped. Picture it - Wayne Rooney is promised the beautiful mansion, the sleek Ferrari and the £3 million salary. He can't wait to begin; the contract looks so enticing! He turns up on his first day and he is commanded to clean mud-encased boots all day and toady to the big stars. His big salary is cancelled and he is paid £25 a week. His mansion turns out to be a hovel and his stylish Ferrari has transmogrified into a scruffy, yellow Fiesta. He has signed a new contract and failed to read the small print - it turns out to be a living nightmare.
We would understand perfectly if Wayne seemed slightly perturbed and disappointed by this contractual betrayal. And that's exactly what Adam and Eve felt on that fateful day. Pain, grief, turmoil and overwhelming sadness. They were promised the moon and it turned out to be a rancid piece of festering gorgonzola! Mind you, they could hardly complain - they were warned, and they still made the wrong choice.
Six crucial relationships that have become twisted and perverted by the fall.
It is vital to notice the all-pervading and radical nature of this curse. Turning our backs on the Gaffer of gaffers affects the entire created order. The ravages of sin and rebellion are spectacular and catastrophic. Let us investigate six crucial relationships that have become twisted and perverted by the fall.
God's relationship to humans has become fraught with pain and conflict. Before the rebellion, the Lord God had strolled about the garden in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8). In some sense God's presence on the earth was visible, tangible and magnetic. Adam and Eve could chat and joke with the Almighty in a stress-free environment; the channels of communication were open and relaxed. But after the rebellion, God withdrew from the earth and retreated to heaven. Humans, from their side, can now experience God as distant and uninvolved. Communication with God becomes a struggle and some people can feel abandoned by God.
The relationship between humans is often consumed
with loathing, bitterness and envy; a bit like the relationship between supporters of Spurs and Arsenal.
Consider for a few moments the appalling acts of torture that are practised in hundreds of countries every
year. Amnesty International has bravely alerted us to
the savage brutality that befouls this planet.
Remember the dreadful concentration camps at
Auschwitz, Treblinka and Dachau where SS soldiers
perpetrated unspeakable crimes against Jews,
Gypsies and other 'undesirables'. We would also do
well to remember that by the time that the slave trade
had been abolished in Great Britain, some fifteen million African women, men and children had been
taken as slaves. Out of this huge total, nine million
had died in transit to other countries
.
The relationship between women and men can be violent and abusive, and not just because the bloke wants
to watch the England match instead of Blind Date!
There is rape and sexual harassment; domestic violence and adultery. There are even stories of brothers
who kill their sisters because they have flirted with
unsuitable men. Men can sometimes bully women
and women, in their turn, can become subservient,
passive and manipulative. Prostitution is another part
of this broken relationship. In Thailand there are
tragic stories of fathers who sell their daughters to
brothels for as little as the price of a fridge.
Rebellion against God has also affected our relationship with ourselves. This feature of the fall is often
ignored and unexamined. It is very easy in a consumer-
orientated society to dislike or even hate oneself. As we
admire the beauty and grace of gorgeous film stars we can become intensely irritated by our own physical imperfections and flaws. Despite the fact that famous and talented footballers appear to have everything going for them, we still hear stories of alcoholism, drug-addiction and other self-destructive behaviour. This insecurity has led to the enrichment of hundreds of plastic surgeons as they reshape and remodel cheeks, buttocks, noses and breasts. Further, anorexia and bulimia can haunt some peoples' lives and without doubt Hollywood seems to prefer scrawny, wraith-like actresses who diet with considerable venom. Numerous neuroses affect the human race.
The relationship between humans and animals has
been spoiled and corrupted by the fall and this far
more than the natural contempt we feel for those silly
club mascots, the lions, foxes and chickens that prance
about on the touchline of our football stadia. In the
biblical story humans were supposed to look after the
animals, birds and insects. We can catch glimpses of
this even now as we watch a film like Free Willy which
depicts the friendly and tender relationship between a
young boy and a whale. The film also exposes the
sheer greed that can captivate the human heart and
the ruthless destruction of many sea creatures as
humans sniff the smell of hard currency. At the same
time crocodiles, lions and sharks take their revenge as
they pounce on unsuspecting human beings.
Although animals do not sin, they have been affected
by the fall.
Finally the relationship between humans and the
earth has been ravaged by sin and human rebellion,
and this is far more serious than the dreadful state of
the pitches in January. Humans were supposed to
lovingly cultivate the earth and enhance the superb garden that God had made. We were commanded to be stewards and friends of the earth but in our rebellion we have become violent and greedy molesters of the planet. Acid rain, pollution in our lakes and seas, the greenhouse effect - all these disturbing phenomena bear witness to our rebellion against God.
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