Thought for Today
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness . . .
Deuteronomy 27:15 "Cursed be anyone who makes an idol or casts an image, anything abhorrent to the Lord, the work of an artisan, and sets it up in secret." . . .
Acts 17:29 Since we are God's offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals.
Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.
“Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) refers to the concept that allows college athletes to benefit from their own names, images, and likenesses. Essentially, it enables student-athletes to use their personal brand for financial opportunities.” (internet search)
One of our local professional sports teams is in a playoff series to determine a national champion. Understandably, the local newscasts have been replete with stories covering that team. One story I have seen repeatedly these last few days is an interview with the fashion consultant for one of the players. Evidently it is common for sports figures to employ fashion consultants, image consultants and numerous others to assist in carefully crafting their public persona. NIL is of great value in professional sports, just as it is becoming of great value in college athletics.
I wonder how long it will be before economic and finance considerations (MONEY!) push the NIL limits down to the high school level. And, if to the high school level, will we someday see participants in little league or even T-ball be able to ‘cash-n’ on NIL?
I am not opposed to money. Money is not inherently evil, in and of itself. We often hear the Bible misquoted as saying “Money is the root of all evil.” In truth, the actual verse reads, “1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.”
There’s nothing evil about wanting to carefully craft one’s public persona. It does seem easier to me, however, to just be careful to actually be the kind of person you are trying to present as a public persona. Equally, there is nothing evil about anyone or everyone being able to benefit financially from their own names, images, and likenesses.
But, the value of one’s image cannot truly be measured in financial terms. Humans are created in God’s own image, according to God’s likeness. What does that mean exactly? I have asked before, does that refer to our being bipedal? To our being symmetrical around a vertical axis? Scripture does not give us a textbook definition.
What we do find in the Bible is a realization of the dangers lurking in human nature in terms of image. The prohibition in scripture against “an idol or . . . an image,” against any “gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals” exists in recognition of our proclivity for confusing the image with the thing that image represents and ultimately coming to worship the representation instead of the original.
NIL rights and the money earned from their licensing are not evil, as long as we realize they are merely representations, with no inherent powers, no ability to confer on the wearer or user any of the abilities of the purchaser.
Do I have and wear any team gear, any caps or jerseys? Yep. I have a Red Sox cap and a Patriots jersey. I don’t have any gear from the other local teams, mostly because I never played any of the other sports. I’m sure that were my older brother still alive, he might be wearing a cap from one of the teams currently battling for the NBA title. I might have even been able to entice him to wear a Red Sox cap. Baseball and basketball were his sports.
My siblings and I were all raised as Christians. We were raised to conform ourselves to the image of God’s Son. For us and for all Christians, that means that while we live our lives according to the role model Jesus provided, we know that we are followers, disciples of Jesus. We know that we are created in the image of God, according to God’s likeness, but none of us are God. It is enough to be a child of God, part of God’s family. That is the real value of NIL.
Stay safe, conform to the image of Jesus, trust God,
Pastor Ray