Penn State

The NCAA handed down its sanctions today. Only time will tell if the intent of changing PSU’s culture is fully realized. I’ve been listening with interest to all the talking heads, but even more to the comments from the general public. They seem to fall into two categories: the sanctions weren’t severe enough, or, it’s unfair to punish the student athletes, most of whom were in grade school when the abuse was happening. Certainly, no one will be happy. No one should be.

As a football fan, and a particularly avid fan of college football, this whole sad story shines a harsh light on how we can become so enthralled by things which are of absolutely no consequence, that we become blind to what is eternally important. This is called idolatry. At Penn State, people in the positions of power, power to save innocents from harm, chose to look the other way in order to protect their idol. There is no other way to look at it.

Idolatry is all around us; it suffuses our lives. The idol of personal freedom sentences millions of unborn children to death every year. The idol of affluence sacrifices the legitimate needs of the poor in our communities, and immolates our own real sense of self-worth as children of God. The idol of self, the most powerful and avaricious of all, demands daily offerings of pride, bigotry, callousness, impatience, disregard, fear and hate. When we look in the mirror, what do we see? A human being in need of healing and restoration, or an idol?