Sports for the Glory of God

Have you ever heard that old saying that too much of a good thing is a bad thing? As a kid, this was one of my favorite defenses against eating more vegetables. I thought that I had come up with the most brilliant polemic ever made against the consumption of vegetables. You might personally think otherwise, but I was convinced that it was the perfect argument.  Regardless, it still didn’t work out for me like I hoped it would -- I still had to eat my veggies, so I stopped using that argument.  

However, I believe that I have finally found the perfect use for that old saying: too much of a good thing can be a bad thing when it comes to sports.  

Misused Gifts

We can believe wholeheartedly that sports are good -- but we must also remember that they can be misused just as any other good gift from the Father can be misused. There is a proper place for sports and a way to enjoy them that brings glory to God instead of hindering our relationship with him. Why we play, how we play, and what priority sports take in our lives determine whether sports are helpful or harmful.  

The lessons I have learned from playing a variety of sports throughout my life and the things I have been able to experience have been invaluable. Team sports such as basketball, football, baseball, and, yes, even soccer teach us values that translate perfectly into our spiritual lives. We learn to trust a coach who knows more than we do and can see more than we can. We learn to be there for teammates when they are struggling and we learn to rely on teammates when we are struggling. We learn that it takes a coordinated effort of different people with different skills to win. Perseverance, hard work, and integrity can all be taught through sports. All of these are wonderful benefits that can come with playing sports (Galatians 6:2, 1 Corinthians 12, etc).

That being said, it would be a mistake not to mention what can go wrong with sports. This section is significantly harder to write because sports are such a huge part of my life. Sports can be misused and can become detrimental to our spiritual wellbeing if they are not handled correctly. 

Maybe the most blatant example is how various organized sports are now demanding an enormous amount of time. They are a common excuse for families missing church for weeks on end. Families choose to skip the only spiritually formational part of their week to travel to a sporting event. This is not a rare occurrence; it is often a habitual pattern for many families. And while sportsmanship should be an integral part of any sport, I have witnessed horrendous behavior over a game that has no real impact on the person watching. To paraphrase another old saying: sports are a wonderful gift, but they’re a terrible god.

But as I said above, sports are like any other good thing that God has allowed us to enjoy. We pervert what he has given when we do not keep the gift in its proper place. When athletic events and achievement become more important than gathering with other believers or when our zeal over a game causes us to allow anger to control our actions, sports have become a problem for us. We have made an idol out of a good gift from our Father. Priorities have been mismanaged and the gift has been elevated far above where it belongs.

Over Christ

Not only can we make an error in our prioritization of sports, but even if we choose to keep them in their proper place, they can still be detrimental to our relationship with Christ. If we choose to play with wrong motives or play in such a way that does not represent Christ well, then we have misused a gift from our Father. Those around us when we play should see Jesus represented in the way we play. This is not to say that we cannot play with passion and intensity, as these are part of playing sports well, but we cannot play with anger or for the glory of ourselves.

We should remember to give thanks to God that he has allowed us to enjoy football, basketball, golf, baseball, or whatever it might be. It should not be taken for granted.  We would do well to remember that we are to partake in this gift in a way that honors the Gift Giver.

All of that to say: sports bring glory to God when we acknowledge them as a gift and enjoy them properly. God has used sports to teach me, and many others, lessons that are necessary for spiritual growth and maturity. Our Father is pleased when we enjoy the good things he has given to us. We bring glory to him by acknowledging that he is the source of all good things and by enjoying his good gifts in their proper place and in the proper way -- including sports (1 Timothy 4:4)!