Sunday, August 30, 2009

The Cost


Today in our Sunday paper was an article about the new Dallas Cowboy stadium that was just finished this past summer. This new state of the art stadium cost 1.15 billion dollars (plus) to build. The video screen alone was an estimate of 40 million dollars. 40 million dollars to show replays of the game.


Would you let that sink in for just a minute?


I don’t know about you, but that embarrasses me. It embarrasses me to live in a country where people are complaining daily about the economy- but yet we can still spend 1.15 billion dollars on a football stadium.


It embarrasses me that we, as a country, are aware that there are people starving and dying of illness that we now consider chronic but treatable, and yet we continue to turn our backs- and look towards the game field instead.


It embarrasses me that people say that they have had to cut back on their ‘giving’… and yet somehow find a way to purchase tickets to that game.


This new stadium holds up to 100,000 people…and people are purchasing those tickets.

One article stated that the average family of four will spend over $700 at one game by simply purchasing the $149 seats in the highest desk, paying $40 to park, buying souvenirs and then consuming 4 burgers, nachos, one popcorn and a few soft drinks.


Now before any of you dedicated sports fans start getting mad at me for this- let me clarify something.


I love football.


I am even guessing God probably loves football. He more than likely delights in watching his people playing and enjoying the game. But what I think God has a problem with is us putting other things (football included) above Him.


I think God has a problem when someone is eager and willing to pay $149 for a seat to the game, but is unwilling to give $25 a month to sponsor a child...


Can you just image the kind of world we would live in if we all decided to spend 1.15 billion dollars on God’s kingdom instead of the football kingdom?


Can you just imagine the kind of world we would live in if we all decided to give $149 towards feeding the hungry instead of over feeding ourselves at the game?



Can you just image the kind of world we would live in if we all were as excited about winning souls as we were about winning the game?



Can you just image the kind of world we would live in if we all raised our kids to worship God instead of worship sports players?



So can I ask you a favor? Could you stop what you are doing right now and pray...

Pray with me for all of the families who are working so hard to come up with the money for their adoption and pray for the child(ren) they are trying to bring home. And then would you also please pray for the children and families God wants to touch through the Pass It Forward Adoption Fund?


The need is so huge… there are so many precious families out there right now that I know about who are trying to adopt...some I know personally, some just through blogs, and many of them are really struggling. God has called them to adopt, they have stepped up to the plate and said yes to God…. Yet they are facing huge number signs- and it is a scary place to be.


Can you pray with me that we can become that stadium full of fans who will cheer them on?


Can you pray with me that we will invest into these families more than we would be willing to pay for a seat at the Dallas Cowboys football game?


Can you pray with me that we would search inside ourselves and really be honest about where our priorities are lining up with Gods?


Will you be a part of the team that works together to win this one for these families- win this one for God?


Because after all, He wrote the greatest play book of all.


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49 comments:

the Matt family said...

thanks for writing this... i will be reposting it on my blog. very convicting!!

Dardi said...

I am with you. Joe & I were talking about this not too long ago. Seems everyone wants to be part of something bigger, but not everybody "gets" that some kinds of bigger actually leave you feeling pretty empty. Ever noticed how so many celebs & pro athletes make the news for doing stuff that doesn't make any sense? Seems they are very sad & unfulfilled. I wish they would focus more on the ones that "give back" to help people realize that that is where the success really comes. Living in the fast lane usually just ends up in a crash.

I will be praying...Love ~ Dardi

natali said...

amen!

Created For His Glory said...

Amen! Goes along with what I was "venting" earlier this week :)
INVEST IN PEOPLE ... PEOPLE!!!
Love ya,
K

Recovering Noah said...

Wow, Amy. What a fantastic and convicting post!!! I'm going to have to link you from my blog. I totally agree 100% with everything you've just said. Could not have said it better.

Leslie

trustandobey said...

I agree too! I think we live in a modern-day Babylon. We worship everything BUT God. Mostly we worship SELF and the proof is written all over our checkbooks!
Lisa

Holly said...

Oh Amy...you are so right. Sometimes I am just so ashamed of us as a group of citizens of this blessed nation.
My heart is so full right now.
I just want to thank you for being real...for loving Jesus without apology and for loving His children.
Keep running the race girl.
love,
Holly

Mandi said...

You are such an inspiration to me. I love your passion for adoption and for the orphans. I love how you can turn a simple football game around to a lesson in adoption ministry. YOU ROCK!!

Andrea Hill said...

Oh Amy, what a great post again. All of this worldlyness is even more sickning when you are just returning from your adoption trip. That is why I keep doing my mission trip so I can stay grounded, always. You know what gives me a bad pit in my stomach is when we celebrate 4th of July and New Years. I love the 4th. It is one of my most favorite holidays. But have you ever thought how many billions are being spent on the fireworks? Just another food for thought or however this sentence goes. Love you.

Jenny said...

Amen!!! My husband vents almost daily about the new baseball stadium. Seven games a year to build this multi-million dollar stadium...he also gets worked up over the Government bailing out the vehicle industry. The government could have fed every single person in the WORLD for less than the bail out!!!!

As a previous post had stated, Thank you for being real and thank you for standing up and saying what we all feel in our hearts.

Sara said...

Yes, yes, yes! And thank you.

Valerie said...

You are so right! Saying some prayers right now.

Audrey said...

Amy - this so touched me. We are here - seeing every day the need. It is breaking our hearts. This post so perfectly says exactly what we are feeling right now. I'm going to link to it. Thanks for speaking my mind :)

Kelli said...

AMEN AMEN AMEN. I am right there with you on this and couldn't have said it better myself. Love football and etc, but I always think about what that money could have done. God help us to be grateful for the fun that is available to us, but to never forget that there are so many who need our help!

Unknown said...

STANDING OVATION my sweet friend!

I'm cheering you on and every other family who has grasped the power of a mighty God who is calling them to do and are doing it!!!!!

Sending super big hugs your way!

Love you - Jill
PS I'm going to link to this post today too!!! Awesome job!

Tracy said...

Amen sister!!! What is so sad is that it's not just football. It's the amount we spend on coffee a year. The amount we spend on shoes a year. On McDonald's. On landscaping! (We pay every year for green grass? And flowers that die? - while shoveling mulch, I'm always thinking, does God really think this should be a priority??) So many little things that all add up. So many little people we could save instead.

SUNSHINE said...

You are so right. This kind of idolatry makes me so angry and I am sure it makes our Father God angry as well. I fight against it at home, as I live with athletic boys:-)

Andrea said...

Amen and Amen!

James 1:27 Family said...

I will be praying for your family starting today as you begin your "rice and beans adventure" tomorrow.

I love this post. I'm right there with you. Just another mental picture... in the United States alone, there are enough children waiting to be adopted to fill that stadium TWICE. Can you imagine seeing it? Can you imagine every seat being filled TWICE with kids in foster care who are waiting to be adopted? This doesn't even touch on the number of children living in orphanages outside of the US.

Sometimes I like to think that people just don't know about this problem. Then reality hits and I see that they know but they just turn away.

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act ..." -- Proverbs 24:12

Much love to you!
Amy

SiLa said...

Amen!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic Post....

Kari said...

Interesting post and interesting responses.

I'm all for adoption (am going through the process now), am against all the bail outs of private companies etc. and think that some materialistic things in my life are a waste BUT we live here, in a country where our god has provided more than the basics. That stadium, built with private funds, brings TAX dollars to your area. It helps to pave the roads you drive on, subsidize various social programs and run the government etc. Is there tax money that is wasted and poorly managed? Absolutely. But then again, not all of your money (or mine) is put to the best use possible even at our own homes. We have luxuries (internet, cameras etc.) that we don't part with. This stadium is no different.

So unless you are willing to give up EVERY little extra in your life I don't think "people in glass houses should throw stones".

Beautiful Mess said...

Wow! That is crazy. And sad. And of course I will PRAY!

We must wake up (self included) and change what we are doing and how we are doing it.

I recently commented on an article in our newspaper (Jacksonville Jaguars) "complaining" about our cheapest tickets being $50 and saying they should be cheaper--I was assaulted verbally because apparently that is cheap for football ticket-and according to your story I see that is true-well to me THAT is still CRAZY expensive!

Sad what is important and sad "who" is not important.

Thank you for this post.

Thank you for you heart. You are such an encouragement to me.

God bless!

Addie Talley, Photographer said...

I so agree with you on this... no matter what the pp said

Amy said...

Kari, I couldn't agree with you more. We are blessed to be in this country. Can I ask you though if YOU were the one starving would you have this same view as you have now?
There is NO EXCUSE for world hunger. NONE. I fully admit I am just as guilty as the next. And that is why I am TRYING to change because one day I will be held accountable. No excuses, no arguing the obvious anymore.
As you stated- we live in a country where God has provided more than the basics- but I guarantee you He didn't do that so that we could keep it for ourselves.

Gardenia said...

Yes He did. great message.

Debbie Petras said...

I came here through Jill's blog. How true your words really are! Sports are wonderful and enjoyable BUT the amount of time, energy and money that is spent is ridiculous. When Christians get excited the world calls us fanatics. When lovers of football get excited the world calls them fans!

Meredith said...

Thank you for the wonderful post! I just have a quick question... do you know of any organizations that do grants for domestic adoptions... we've been a little misled on our adoption and are at a little bit of a loss on how to ensure Gabriel stays home with no bumps in the road. I've looked for hours online and am getting no where... thanks

whenpigsfly said...

Amen Amy!!!!!!!!!!!!! As I mentioned to you in an other post, when our homeless shelters are dumps and our athletes have the best that there is to offer from faster squirting water bottles to the shiniest helmets to the tallest stadium... be it from private donations or whatever, something is wrong. Does a taller stadium cause athletes to play better ? Somehow newer neon lights can do what illegal steroids might do for athletic performance? The new and enhanced prices for tickets have further promised that my children and I will not attend a sporting event in the new glitzy best. We didn't think tickets BEFORE the new improvements were worth the price, and now, with my 3 children waiting in Liberia , getting less than a bowl of rice a day to eat, we are even more opposed to the unnecessary oppulence of the new stadiums popping up. MY inter net is basic. In some countirs, inter net is a luxury, agreed. My computer, its old, and slow, also would be considered a luxury in some countries. I think my point is, just because we CAN have such razzamatazzzzzz structures and possessions, and just because some company or contractor will build them, does not mean we NEED them. Our priorities are way off whack if we truly believe that more ticket sales in a bigger building will improve quality of life for anyone who is outside a stadium when the starting whistle blows.
As I wait for my desperately ill baby to be released from Liberia, and my two "just" hungry older but so far healthy children to be allowed thier adoptions in Liberia, I'm looking at what we don't need, and what we can do to bless others and help those in need. It won't be to buy tickets for the new football season so we can sit in comfier seats, but it might be to find some seats that are comfortable at a garage sale for the homeless shelter. NOT holier-than-thou, please. Just seeing how blessed we are and what it really means to be a follower of Jesus in America in 2009.
Linda

Kelly said...

Well Amy...as usual you speak truth. Thank you for this...God's word is truth..you can't believe it and believe that the football stadium makes Him happy...no way... people can argue til the cows come home....but we either chase after Jesus or we don't.. maybe it's cliche...but what would Jesus do? We need to look at how he lived His life and apply it the best we can...it is possible...we can make excuses or we can make a difference. Bless you Amy...I'll be linking to this post.

Valerie said...

I"m praying!!!

Janet said...

Thank you! Can I just put your posts on my blog everyday?! You always say it sooo well (and I don't). God has gifted you with this ability to get the point across.
We were out running errands one morning after the public schools had started. We saw kids driving to school in brand new cars, luxuray cars, even a porsche. (I'm sure I cannot even fathom what the insurance on that would be!) Seeing a society of spoiled kids (and parents) truly is sickening at times. Janet
mom to 5--3from China.

Kari said...

Amy - What a powerful post!!!!!
You heart is crying out for justice and causing us to seek our part in establishing that justice as God leads. Thank you!!!
Thank you for being willing to speak out.
This is a must not miss post - passing it on this afternoon to friends and family.
May we all stop, pray and listen to what God would put on our hearts today!
:) Kari in CO

"Are These Kids All Yours?" said...

Love the correlation!!! I think of that everytime I see so many spend money like it is nothing- and I think you could feed a child/family for a whole month with just that item you bought. Or do you know how many children could be brought home with that kind of money! As for the cheering section- ask our staff at camp how much we cheer over one lost soul that finds Christ- football games have nothing on our celebrations!!!!!!! God GOD!!!!!!

Love the post- spread the word around!!!!

Jennifer said...

Great post and so, so true! It can be so difficult which is why we need these kind of reminders daily. Thanks! :-)

Debbie said...

I feel the same way! Thanks for messages that are so inspirational and thought provoking. Praying!!!

jajbs said...

I was saying the exact same thing to a friend of mine this afternoon, but it was not about a stadium. It was about the other frivilous things that we spend money on. The Lord has been really stirring my heart and showing me the things I need to cut out and what I can do. Adoption changed our life and I feel that we should do it again soon, but are still paying off the adoption 2 years later. God is faithful and I know He will show me ways to do what we feel called to do. Thank you so much for staying so truthful and faithful to bring this message to all of you readers. You are a woman of God and it blesses me to have found your blog.


amanda

Sweet Joni said...

AMEN! LOVE your post! Couldn't have said it any better & it's not just football people - consider all things/places we put before God & HIS kingdom!

Jen said...

Amy,

what a great post! I'm looking forward to seeing who the "pass it forward" fund brings home!

Unknown said...

My family just had this discussion yesterday about pro sports players and the excess that is spent on "the sport". It truly makes me sick. I am so glad you posted this. GOod grief, why can't Oprah do a show on this topic...
I'm proud of you.

Dawn said...

Linking this post from my blog too. Thank-you for putting this into words.

Beautiful Mess said...

Hey, I happened upon this blog today and immediately thought of you--

Not sure how your pay-it-forward program is working but at a minimum I figured I would pass her along and see what God does!

http://www.strivingfor31.com/2009/08/god-said-it-i-believe-it.html

SupermomE13 said...

This is a wonderful, kick butt post Amy!!!! Thank you for writing it.

Awesome!
Love
E

Jocelyn said...

I am on my knees (well, not at this very moment- I come back up off my office floor to type this comment). My heart is heavy, heavy. Thank you for this incredible check of where our focus is, where our minds our and where our hearts are. It sometimes feels like too big a challenge, too much of a heaviness, which then leads me to feel depressed, angry and useless. Right now I am trying so hard to make things work so that I can bring more kiddos in to my home, into my life... to love them if only for a moment, but the obstacles sometimes seem too much. I feel we are fighting with a world that just doesn't value the least of these... and it is wonderful to know that there are others (you and your family for one) that are fighting along side and doing so much to change the ideas of the world- if only for their family and those their family comes into contact.
I think what I love so much about Mother Theresa's view is that she knew she wasn't going to be able to change people's views or lifestyles... that SHE could only do what SHE could do and no amount of obstacles or seeing time after time how the world was could bring her joy and passion for the Lord and for those hurting and in need to an end.
Thank you for continuing your call to action- even with newspaper articles in your face about the reality of what we are up against.
THANK YOU.

darci said...

http://defendingcontending.com/2009/09/01/how-to-know-if-your-church-isn%e2%80%99t-spending-enough-on-missions/

I had just read the above link when I read yours...so powerfully written, and so convicting, thanks again Amy. I am always trying to keep it in mind, that 'to whom much has been given much will be required'. This life here is just a blip for us, and yet it is so EASY to get caught right up in filling it and our houses and garages with more and more stuff. Thanks for the powerful message here. darci

That Fresh Feeling said...

WOW....your writing is so captivating and true. I am on my knees as well. You have moved me to tears.

Blessings, Amy

PJ Academy said...

Shaking head in agreement!!!

They could have sent me that money I'll adopt if they don't want too LOL!!!!

Jennifer
working on Adoption #2, Child #5

Pedro and Felis Patlan said...

Amy...I love this! This is a sore spot for me too. I love sports and although I can't really sit through a game I still love the concept of playing and working as a team but the amount of money that goes into it is absurd and I don't see why the players are getting paid so much to "play" but it all comes down to the fans and what they are willing to pay. If the fans would just shift their focus on other things the world would be so much better.

Can I repost this on my blog...? I have wanted to say something like this but just didn't know how to say it and you have said it soooo well.

Blessing Amy.

Tessa said...

Amy, I so agree with you on this. I am constantly amazed at how much money is spent on such silly things. We are big football fans in our house too (we prefer high school and college!) .. but it completely perplexes me why we constantly need to build things bigger and better. In our area, there are so many companies that continue to build bigger stores right next to the smaller one! It baffles my mind how wasteful and materialistic this is! I am convicted right now to stop talking about this and instead stop shopping at these stores!

I also agree with some of the other commenters - the amount of money spent on fireworks, or confetti, or Christmas decorations ... it is just plain crazy.

I always say that I will know when we are really struggling economically when the restaurants in our area are not packed on a Tuesday night. We all need to start thinking about how we spend our money.

Thanks for the priority check!