I'll bet my friend "Steve" had his "cheesehead" hat all dusted off and ready to go yesterday. Yes, it looks like a big hunk of cheese on your head. "Cheesehead" is what they call Green Bay Packers fans, and, man, did they have something to cheer about this year. Their beloved Wisconsin warriors were in the Super Bowl!
A couple of years ago, they had a shot at the Super Bowl, but they lost in overtime in a thrill-packed game with the New York Giants (my team, who watched the playoffs and Super Bowl on TV this year ). And Steve's very pregnant wife "Missy" (names have been changed to protect the innocent - me!) had the thrill of watching her husband watch football hypnotically for hours.
The game was at a climactic moment when Missy suddenly emerged from the bathroom, soaked from the waist down. "My water broke!" she told Steve breathlessly. And there he was, standing in the middle of the living room floor with his cheesehead hat. Looking at her, looking at his team, torn between his girl and his game. Then Missy uttered those game-changing words, "I'm only kidding."
She had purposely drenched herself and, in so doing, introduced a serious reality check into a championship Sunday.
I got a major laugh when I heard about Steve's predicament. Until I realized that I, like every husband, am faced with those kinds of choices all the time. And unlike Steve's choice, it's very real.
Every wife knows what is her biggest competition for her husband's time and attention. Sports, work, "the guys," ESPN, a hobby, the Internet - whatever takes her husband "away" a lot.
And every husband has a powerful way to show his wife how very much he loves her. By consciously choosing her over her greatest competition. Choosing to be with her at the sacrifice of being with your other "love." Reordering your priorities to give her your best, not your leftovers. Taking time to support her in what she cares about.
When God reveals in the Bible His blueprint for great relationships (Ephesians 5 and 6), He begins with this overview: "Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a...sacrifice" (Ephesians 5:1). Jesus led the way - giving up His life for us, because He loves us so much. He's the template for all genuine love. Key word: sacrifice.
So, in the difficult choices a man has to make between his "game" and his girl, God expects a man's love for his wife to win.