A Christian perspective on sport

Here's my magazine article for August:

Photo by Einar Hansen from FreeImages

When it comes to board games, I can be quite competitive and if I'm honest, I'm not a very good loser. However, I've never got to the stage where I throw the board in a fit of rage, unlike an unnamed member of the Royal Family which is apparently why the Queen has banned Monopoly! As we enjoy another summer of sport, it is perhaps worthwhile reflecting on the themes of winning and losing, on success and failure.

It might be assumed that Christianity, if it has anything to say about sport at all, would be against the idea of competitive sport. After all, doesn't loving our neighbour mean that we want them to win and turning the other cheek mean that if they beat us at something, we should let them beat us again? Happily that's not the case, but it does help us to see how we can approach competitive sport in a Christian way.

Firstly, loving our neighbour means that cheating is not acceptable. There are many times in the Old Testament where God commands fairness in business and justice (like Leviticus 19:15 and 35), which could equally apply to sport. Paul says that “anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules” (2 Timothy 2:5). Secondly, turning the other cheek means that if we do lose we should do so graciously and not be filled with anger and a desire for revenge.

It is this second one that is sometimes very hard! The more the competition means, the more painful it is to lose. The answer is not to give up caring about winning and losing (e.g. by saying that it's only the taking part that counts) nor to dispense with the idea of winning at all (e.g. the 'non-competitive' sports days). Rather the answer is to put sport into the correct perspective.

The Latin root of the word 'competition' means 'to strive together' – by having something to strain for (i.e. victory) all competitors push each other on to improve. So in this sense it is the taking part that counts, because both winning and losing are learning opportunities, and losing is probably more instructive and character-building. This image may also lie behind the exhortation to “consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24) - church is a competitive activity!!

But sport, along with all human activity, needs to be put in its proper place: Paul reminds us that athletes “do it to get a crown that will not last, but we [follow Jesus even when it is difficult] to get a crown that will last forever” (1 Corinthians 9:25). As great as human success can be “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36). Failure in sport, in career or in exams can be traumatic but failure to respond to Jesus' invitation to repent and trust in him has eternal consequences.

Christianity Explored and the Olympics

Here's my magazine article for September:

“One Life. What's it all about?”

That's the strap line on the posters for the Christianity Explored course, which we'll be running again starting on Monday 5^th September. And it's a very important question - because how we answer that question has a huge bearing on how we live our lives.

I'm writing this at the middle of the Olympic Games and in interview after interview the medal winners talked about how their preparations for the last four years had been focussed on competing in these Games. Their whole lives; their daily routines, their food and drink, their social activities, their family lives had been dictated by the aim of doing the best that they could in their event. They had to ignore or avoid anything that would distract them from their goal and certainly not do anything that would make them unable to achieve their potential. And standing on the podium with an Olympic medal around their neck made all of those sacrifices worth it.

Olympic athletes are perhaps an extreme example but many people are similarly driven to achieve goals in their personal lives or careers and make similar sacrifices. On the other hand many people don't really have a clue where they're going or what they want to achieve and their lives are subsequently purposeless. So we need to ask ourselves the question of what our goals are and more importantly whether those goals are good ones.

Jesus said he came to bring us life in all its fullness, so when we're reassessing our own life goals one of the important factors to think about is if and where Jesus features in our lives. The Christianity Explored course gives the opportunity to discover who Jesus is, what he did and what that means for us by reading through and discussing Mark's gospel.

St Paul often uses the analogy of sport to describe what it's like to follow Jesus. He wrote “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 for ever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-26). Paul contrasts the fleeting and ephemeral nature of sporting prizes such as laurel leaves, titles, records etc. with the permanent prize of everlasting life promised to all who believe in Jesus and who live with him at the centre of their lives. And unlike Olympic gold, this everlasting prize is for all believers who run and complete the race, not just for those who come first.