Part 2 - My Life Story - by Mark

From a young age my brothers and I would spend hours playing, watching and thinking about American football and other sports.’

In my school, American football was very important.

In the space of 9 years MY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM was state champions 3 times and NUMBER TWO 2 times.

Unknowingly, football gradually became my god.

Football, and not the true God became my focus for satisfaction.

For a while it worked.
Football seemed to make a good god.
I was really happy playing football.

I could have thanked God for giving us the game of football and my ability to play it,

Instead I used God to get what I really wanted...

“God,” I would pray, “Get me on the starting football team!”

Next, I would pray for the other new god that I was forming in my heart.

God give me a girlfriend!

I had never had a girlfriend and really wanted to have one.

Every night I would pray, “God give me a girlfriend and make me a starter. Amen”

As a senior in high school God gave me what I wanted.
I got a position on the starting team playing defensive back.
It was so great!
Often times we would play in front of thousands of fans.
I got to appear in the newspaper and on T.V. and was well known at school.
Little kids even asked me for an autograph once!
My pride slowly got bigger and bigger.
I got my first girlfriend and felt fully content.
Then I forgot about God.
The football season suddenly ended and we had not won the championship.
A week later my girlfriend broke up with me.
My heart was so broken!
My two precious false gods had been destroyed.
I had never experienced such pain inside.