By REV JOHN HATCHER
Religion Columnist

Football! Smashed mailboxes and Christian prayers won't leave football alone.

After all, all football wants is absolute dominance from the kiddies who do it as parental sublimation to the professionals who do it for the money.

Mind you, I just might be a little softer on football had "they" invited me to play. But they didn't and after all, someone's got to play the prophet when football is getting thrown around so much. But, my big objection is the near deification of football playersfrom the high schoolers to the academically challenged in college to those guys who steal the church's worship crowd when there's a home game.

After all, isn't attending a Falcon's home game more important than taking your upfront seat at your home church?

First, football and smashed mailboxes. Which is better: smashing a fellow person possibly resulting in severing the spinal cord, or smashing a simple mailbox which can be replaced tomorrow? You may answer, "Well, in football, all the guys give permission for their head to be knocked off; but, the home owner hasn't given permission to have his mailbox knocked offbesides the mailbox doesn't belong to the crazy kid."

My question abovealthough totally irrelevant to manyuncovers something of the idiocy of our value system in this country. Parents will go to court to demand that their kids can play football even after they've been bad boys; yet, which parents will go to court to demand that a church be allowed to build a youth center to prevent bad boys.

Our values are totally skewed. Why do we payoh yes, you and I by forking over ticket priceswhy do we pay baseball players and football players more than we pay our policemen and public school teachers? Totally skewed values. Agree? Parents are skewed; patrons are skewed.

Second, football and prayer. I believe in prayer a lot more than football. One of the most awkward things I've ever felt as a minister was prayingat a football game. It was the Stagg Bowl in Phenix City, Alabama. The Stagg Bowl hosts A or AA or some sort of A's teams in an annual play off. Phenix City is right proud to host such a game. Just how do you pray with integrity that no body gets hurt when the objective of the other side is to make the other team hurt and hurt so badly they will lose. But, I prayed and it was probably one of the finest prayers ever offered to a football crowd.

But, sincerely, I commend young men and women who stand up for their faith by praying at football games and commencement exercises. If a student gets into trouble with the authorities, this would be a good and God cause. "They arrested him," someone said. "Why?" one asked. "He prayed at the football game," someone answered. That's something you want on your heavenly record when the day comes for accounting.

Before, however, we get red in the face insisting on praying at school and at football gamesof which I say, "go for it"let's make sure we are praying at home and certainly at church. Jesus said, "My House shall be a House of Prayer." He meant that the local church house should be filled with youth and adults praying.

Why force prayer on a bunch of heathens when we are not praying where we have the absolute freedom to pray?

Rev. Dr. John Hatcher is pastor of River's Edge Community Church in Fayetteville.

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