As I write this, the world is gearing up for Super Bowl LVII (57) in Arizona.  While it’s not the most watched sporting event in the world – events such as the Olympics and the world soccer championship which include athletes from many countries understandably rank higher – the Super Bowl IS the most watched American sports championship. 

And it isn’t even close!  45 percent of U.S. households will tune in.  Well over 100 million viewers worldwide are following the action. (Or at least the commercials!)  No other American sporting playoffs draw even 20 million viewers.

An interesting sidenote regarding Super Bowl Sunday: it is the second-highest food consumption date for Americans!  The only day of the year when more food is eaten is on Thanksgiving.

Of course, the immensity of the attraction makes the event a high-money one.  According to Fox, which is airing the game, this year’s Super Bowl commercials cost as much as 7 million dollars for a 30-second spot.  Tickets to the game started at $6,000.  (Astounding when one considers that tickets to the first Super Bowl in 1967 cost only $12, and some tickets went unsold!)

Those players fortunate enough to play in the game benefit monetarily as well.  The ones on the winning team will receive $83,000 each, as well as a unique Super Bowl ring worth between $30,000 – $50,000.  But the losers aren’t left out; they’ll still earn a cool $42,000.

Naturally there can’t be a championship game without a championship trophy.  The Super Bowl version is named the Vince Lombardi Trophy.  It’s made by the New York jewelry giant, Tiffany & Company.  The award is constructed of sterling silver and valued at more than $10,000.  However, should a winning team put the trophy up for auction, the purchasing bid would undoubtedly be exorbitant. 

For some … perhaps even many … the Lombardi Trophy is the ultimate trophy on earth.  For others, they might prize the NBA, NHL, or MLB trophies greater.  Though it’s hard to argue that the FIFA Soccer World Cup isn’t the most valuable one of all.  Made of 18-carat gold, it’s worth is estimated to be 20 million dollars.

As monetarily valuable and as sentimentally treasured as these trophies might be, in the end they are nothing.  Because in the end, everyone dies, and their earthly trophies never make the journey with them.  And in the Final End …  the Last Day when the Lord Jesus returns … all earthly awards will be dissolved when the whole earth is made new.  (Is. 65:17, 2 Peter 3:10-13).

Which is why the Scriptures repeatedly encourage us to focus on spiritual victories.  On heavenly glories.  On eternal awards.  On honors that the Lord bestows, and not people.  These are the ultimate trophies!

It is so challenging for humans to see past the physical and focus on and treasure the spiritual.  Our five senses seem much more present and pressing than our silent souls.  Our bodies aggressively demand attention but are temporary; our souls quietly reside out of sight but will exist forever.  Where they eternally exist will depend on God’s grace, of course, and on the attention we give them in this life.  Food for the body is rarely neglected; food for the soul (God’s Word!) often is but never should be!

The Apostle Paul’s inspired words fit well in this discussion.  He used physical competition to picture spiritual striving, and contrasts earthly awards with the heavenly one. “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).

Jesus summarized this same truth in his message to the Church in Smyrna in Revelation: “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). 

The writer to the Hebrews shows us how this is done.  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

One of the football teams will hoist the coveted Lombardi Trophy into the air this Sunday.  Good for them and for their fans.  I’ll certainly be watching.  But God grant that our focus will always be on receiving the ultimate trophy of God’s crown of life.  It’s the only trophy that really matters.

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(Matthew 6:19-20)  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”