Question: Dr. Tony, I need your help. My husband is swiftly losing his faith in God because his favorite football team is constantly losing. Every time his team loses, he loses more of his faith. How can I help him look at it differently, and how can I get him not to watch so much football?

Answer:

I truly hope your husband is not losing his faith because his favorite team is not winning. If he is genuinely losing faith in the Lord, how about telling him this:

It is not a rational reaction to lose your faith because your favorite football team is losing. Rather than abandon your faith or switch beliefs, it would make more sense to switch teams. After all, fans on both sides of any game, in any sport, hope and pray for their team to win. Only one of those prayers can be answered. If your team is losing, it doesn’t mean God isn’t there; maybe He preferred on the other side to win, so He allowed it. So if God is with them, shouldn’t you be too?

Of course, this reasoning will certainly not affect him. I cannot imagine a real sports fan switching loyalties just because his team keeps losing. Yet, that is what having faith means.

No matter what happens, we only have one God, and we stick with Him through all our ups and downs. In fact, the word for faith in Hebrew is “emunah,” which means “loyalty.” Just like a true fan never switches sides no matter what, a true believer is loyal to God, no matter what.

In a way, it is beautiful that the most significant difficulty in his life is that his team is losing. May it always be that way. However, he needs to maintain perspective and untangle his faith from his fan-hood. Football is a game, entertainment, recreation, relaxation. If it is bringing such anxiety and disappointment into his life, it is not serving its purpose. Sports is about playing, not praying.

I don’t know if you will succeed in convincing him to watch less football. But maybe he can become less invested in the games. Your husband’s zeal and spiritual energy should be saved for his real team, the team that genuinely needs him — his family, community, the body of Christ, and God.