Before I get started, I?d just like to thank God for aiding me, with every word I write, every verb and adjective that I conjugate, and especially for the punctuation required in putting together a coherent sentence.

That sounds kind of odd, doesn?t it?

So why doesn?t it sound so odd when an athlete does the same thing in a post-game interview?

I don?t know how many times I?ve seen or heard it done, but the modern day athlete sure does seem to think that God, among the many things that he has to pay attention to, somehow cares whether he gains an extra yard or makes a clutch three-pointer at the end of the game.

Talk about nerve!

Do you think God really cares one way or the other, the outcome of a sporting event? I don?t. I look around the globe, and I see hungry children in third world countries suffering from malnutrition, not to mention any one of a million horrible, and often times curable diseases, that they can?t get treatment for. So, it just seems pretty audacious to believe that the hand of God was put upon an NFL running back, so that he can gain 100 yards, an NBA player so that he can make a timely shot, or little “Freddy” who just scored a “get out of jail free” card in route to his dominating win over his little sister in Monopoly. These things are all just games, and I don?t think God has too much stock in the outcome.

It?s just kind of irritating. The athlete is quick to thank God when the tide rolls his way in a game, but the thought of God never seems to come up in the off-season when he turns down the $5 million contract, because he feels he?s worth $8 million. I don?t see sincerity. I see self indulgence, and an attempt by the player to create a public image of himself that is, in many cases, artificial. It?s a spur of the moment comment yes, but it also belittles the true devotion that many people have to their respective religions, and the real gifts of God that are received in daily life.

Mike Tyson portrayed the most sickening scene of “giving the glory to God” that I have ever seen, when he was first released from prison. He was a newly converted Muslim, or so he said, and he gave all praise for any accolade he accomplished to Allah. After his first fight, in which he escaped Peter McNeely?s infamous “cocoon of horror,” he dropped to his knees, faced Mecca, and prayed. This act of devotion to Allah seemed to disappear, however, shortly before he bit off Evander Holyfield?s ear, and threatened to eat Lennox Lewis? children. I wonder if Allah was impressed?

The athlete has grown up the center of attention, and has put so much emphasis on what his sport is, and so much time into mastering it, that it seems to warp his reality. They don?t seem to realize that the true gift that God gave to them isn?t the ability to play a game, but their physical well being, and the good fortune of being where they are at. Think about it. Shaq is seven feet tall and 320 pounds of muscle. That is what God gave him. He also gave him the free will to use that massive frame in whichever way he chose. Great! He chose basketball. It?s up to him to make the last second shot, and it?s up to him to make sure that his team is in the championship. God has other things to do.Comments? Email [email protected]