Thoughts about the Kansas City Chiefs
If you’re not sure what the Kansas City Chiefs have to do with some of my other subject matter and regular musings, be patient with me and check it out. I think you’ll see the connection.
January 31, 2022
After becoming a Kansas City Chiefs football fan by default when I got married decades ago, I’ve followed with at least some interest their ups and downs over the years. Like everyone else, I was excited about the rising star of Patrick Mahomes. Like everyone else, I found the January 23 playoff game to be a nail-biter and the January 30 game disappointing.
However, there is a deeper principle at play (okay, bad pun), and I’m just going to dive in and explore it a little because I believe it’s a key to why the Chiefs did not make it to the Super Bowl. In fact, I felt from the beginning of the season they would have some struggles and not achieve a three-peat appearance, although I’m the first to admit they made it interesting.
During his rise to stardom with KC, Patrick Mahomes has been outspoken about his Christian faith. He is to be commended for giving glory to God for his talent and acknowledging his teammates’ contributions to the Chiefs’ success. He’s also demonstrated a remarkable amount of maturity as he has shown balance between patriotism, faith, and grace toward other NFL players, some of whose actions have angered many, myself included, even if they may have acted out of genuine concern for the needs of the black community. With regard to those needs, however, Mahomes’ actions do not line up with his words of faith.
Any student of American history knows that mistakes have been made by American leaders. Those mistakes have created weaknesses in what has been the greatest republic on earth; but said republic is nonetheless based on a foundation of faith and has managed to endure for over 200 years, although it’s on pretty shaky ground now. One of those mistakes, of course, was the acceptance of slavery, allowing it to be a big factor in the economic growth of the South. The Civil War was complicated because of other issues—regional pride, lack of trust in the federal government by many Native Americans, and more. And although President Lincoln stood firm and the Union prevailed, slavery did lasting damage. Nowhere was this more noticeable than in the breakdown of the black family structure, as families were regularly separated and sold, black fathers and older sons removed from wives and younger siblings for their owners’ economic gain or as punishment. After emancipation, many black families were held together by godly mothers and grandmothers, but far too many black men had no idea how to be a good father and build solid families, because any possible examples had been taken from them.
People like Frederick Douglass, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, along with their supporters of all colors, have done the hard work of fighting for freedom. A few brave politicians did the right thing in passing the Civil Rights Act. Jackie Robinson paved the way for today’s black pro athletes to earn multi-million-dollar salaries. But nobody is standing up for the basic problem of father-absent black homes; in fact, government policies that hand out free baby money, without the father taking responsibility, do more harm than good. Abortion clinics are disproportionately concentrated in poor black neighborhoods and simply another form of eugenics. With a few exceptions including some wonderful Assemblies of God U.S. missionaries I know, who is stepping up to train young black men to obey God and wait to make babies until they can serve and provide for a family? And what happened to taking public responsibility for that readiness, in the form of a marriage license and wedding ceremony?
This situation is not going to be fixed by kneeling for the National Anthem, wearing “Stop the Hate” stickers on football helmets, defunding the police, or God forbid, teaching self-pity for blacks and self-deprecation for whites via Critical Race Theory. It’s going to be fixed when people stand up for Biblical values and live them publicly in their sphere of influence, and that includes Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes has been living with his girlfriend for some time; they own a home together and have a child together. Yes, he makes good money, but where’s the commitment? His actions could easily be imitated by young black men who see him as a hero and think it’s fine to hop into bed with their girlfriends if they “intend to” get married sometime or “hope to” get a job. I grew up among poor Ozarks farmers, but one thing they had down pat was that men didn’t marry until they had a reasonable chance at being able to provide, and a baby showing up before the marriage, or fewer than 9 months afterward, was shameful. My grandfather, for example, was 36 years old and established as the community blacksmith before he married my much-younger grandmother. Even people who weren’t churchgoers followed this principle if they wanted to be respectable.
Young black men who are privileged to grow up in a faith-filled, father-present home have a responsibility, and caving to the culture is not it. It’s not just black men who defy God’s clear instruction in this area; but sadly, black men have historically had fewer good examples to follow. Those who do have an example and a platform need to speak up, and Patrick Mahomes has failed to do so. In that, he is taking God’s name in vain by invoking his Christian faith when it’s convenient while simultaneously living a lifestyle that rejects Biblical principles. For that, I believe the Holy Spirit put it on my heart some time ago that his success would not continue to another Super Bowl this year. I’ll even go so far as to say he needs to publicly acknowledge his sin and make changes if he wants to provide the leadership his team needs to do it next year.
I’m not sure why God put this on the heart of a 60-something-year-old grandma and half-hearted Chiefs fan. I likely have no platform for sharing it with Mahomes or anybody else who cares. But I do believe we all, myself included, are accountable for following Christ to the best of our ability and sharing him with others. I honestly pray that somebody who does carry weight with this talented young man will call him to account with the truth, not just for the sake of “Chiefs kingdom” but for the many young men who could be impacted for God’s kingdom.