Magic-Lakers: God Is in Orlando's Corner? I Hope You're Wrong, Dwight

If you're considering putting some money down on the NBA Finals and aren't sure who to put your money on, Dwight Howard has some inside information for you. 

Take the Magic.  Why?

"God," Howard told ESPN. 

Howard was given the chance to recant his..."interesting" take, but he wasn't budging.

"That's the reason," Howard continued, "I'm telling you."

Howard attended Atlanta's Southwest Christian Academy, so I understand and respect his faith and I believe he is steadfast in his belief in the Lord.  However, with all due respect, I hope he's wrong.

Not because I'm a Laker fan or a cynical atheist. I sincerely hope that God has better things to do than pick sides in a basketball game.

There are over 100,000 homeless people in the United States.  12 and a half percent of Americans are living in poverty, 13.3 million of those people are children under the age of 18.  That's nothing compared to problems encountered around the world.

According to UNICEF 25,000 children die every day due to poverty.  A good number of those deaths happen in places hardly ever scrutinized by the civilized world.  72 million school age children were not enrolled in schools as of 2005.

That doesn't even begin to factor in the affects of disease, wars, and other blights—natural or manmade. 

I would hope the good Lord above, however you define him, would be spending his time helping to enlighten us to the problems of the world and helping to eradicate the many real problems facing humanity.

We often lose sight of what is important when it comes to sports.  At the end of the day, basketball is still just a game where the objective is to put a round orange ball in a cylinder more times than the guys in the other colored jerseys. 

It's arrogant to assume that God loves you more than he loves anyone else.  It's also arrogant to assume your god is better than anyone else's.  Dwight Howard is human.  Humans are flawed creatures.  God is not.

Fortunately, I have faith that God has his priorities in the right place—and something tells me his priorities won't have him anywhere near the Staples Center come Thursday night.