“Thanks for the happiness.” As I walked by, the sign caught my attention. What made this person happy? Who were they thanking? Seriously, it’s a little odd to hang a sign outside your house anyway.
Then I realized they were referring to the World Cup. This month the World Cup ended. It’s pretty much the biggest sporting event in the world outside of America. Millions of people stop virtually everything they’re doing to watch their team, if not all the games. This year, an unprecedented number of us Americans watched the games.
These people (with the sign) were thanking the players for making them happy. They bought fabric, painted a sign, hung it outside, and left it for days. Why? To say thank you for this new feeling of happiness they had.
Ever done that? Ever found yourself pumped up because of a team? I have. Sometimes I feel proud (as if I had anything to do with the win). It feels awesome to win. It means someone else lost. Ahhhh. Wait! That’s no good. Who wants to celebrate the demise of others.
Many times, when we win, we celebrate because it makes us feel like winners. We get so captivated by the event, by the feeling, by the joy, by the change in status. I wonder how much of it is about the sport itself and how much is about the heart. Let me explain.
When our temperament changes drastically due to a game, we legitimately are excited. Thrilled. Elated. But I find an emptiness after winning when the joy has worn off. I find an emptiness every time I lose. Why is that?
Personally, I put too much of my emotions, hopes, and thoughts into sports events. As a Tar Heel fan, I occasionally want to vomit after the Heels lose to Duke. I feel embarrassed, ashamed, and want to hide. In a sense, if I’m not careful, I can find my identity in sports.
Sports bring joy to my life. Sports also bring pain and emptiness. After the Heels, the Panthers, or some other team loses or wins, I need to be careful. When they win, I think I’m something special because I was pulling for them. When they lose, I feel like I personally just lost.
I’ll always watch sports and play every sport possible. What I want to avoid though, is the feeling of finding my identity in the sports I play. I don’t want to act out my own emotional issues on the field or through others.
Sports, like vacations, movies, and so many other things, allow us to escape the monotony of day-to-day life and work. Rest and relaxation helps us. Self medicating or placing hope in temporary things does not.
The next time you watch a sporting event or a movie, buy a new outfit, or get excited about a new car, stop and ask yourself a few questions:
What is it that I find so fulfilling about this event, thing, or experience?
Am I getting my satisfaction from inappropriate things?
When was the last time my time with God gave me joy like this? Pain like this?
May I (and you) define our experiences in ways that direct appropriate gratitude to the source of them. Let’s aim to enjoy various activities in life, but to not source our identity in them. It’s possible that the person whose sign said, “Thanks for the happiness,” was simply saying thank you to the players for the great games. However, they may have been living vicariously through their team, receiving their satisfaction and joy from life’s events rather than from their Creator. We’ll never know.
Let’s be people whose lives reflect a contentment in what God has given us and taken away. True happiness only comes in contentment with God and His actions in, through, and around us. Let’s aim to make our lives virtual signs pointing to God that say, “Thanks for the happiness.”
Brad, Lindsey and Shiloh Bridges recently moved to Uruguay to serve as Cross Cultural Servants in preparation for long term service in Spain with CAM International.
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