You Don’t Have to Be a Fan

Growing Daily

You Don’t Have to Be a Fan

Last month I wrote about my elderly mother-in-law navigating modern TV technology with her friend. And the adventures continue…  

A few days ago, she called to get a refresher lesson on how to get to Amazon Prime on her TV. The Bills were playing on Thursday Night Football, and the only way to watch was on Prime.

“But, Mom, why do you want to watch the Bills?” my husband asked.

“Oh, I don’t. But my friend Lois doesn’t have Prime, so I’m going to update her when anything happens.”

“But why does Lois care about the Bills?”

It turns out Lois’s grandson is on the Bills’ coaching staff.

So two ninety-year-old women, who live nowhere near Buffalo, and who don’t care that much about football in general, spent their evening navigating technology to follow the Bills for the sake of a young coaching assistant. I love that. They cared about the game because they cared about him.

In Philippians 2:4 God tells us, “Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” We’re to “be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). Because, in the body of Christ, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad” (1 Corinthians 12:26).

We aren’t going to share every fellow believer's enthusiasm, but we can take an interest in what matters to them. In Christ, their joy or sorrow, their success or failure, is ours as well.


- Catherine Reid