the problem with sport…

(Jonathan Palmer, possibly the most sporty guy at Unichurch, explains)

… is that referees are biased. And the AFL is not international. And water polo doesn’t get enough coverage. Rico Tice, Associate Minister at All Souls Church in London also had a few pertinent things to say about the problem with sport in a talk I listened to this week. With many of us heading to Sportsfest, it might be a good idea to have a quick look at some of these things and how we  can take a biblical approach to playing sport on the weekend.

You don’t have to think for too long to answer the question “Is there is something wrong with sport?” Media outlets chronicle on a weekly basis the involvement of sports stars in drug abuse, alcohol abuse, violence, threats, rape, adultery, racism and bribery. Think about the numerous scandals in the various footy codes or even Serena Williams’ recent comments at the US Open. These types of incidents are not isolated but endemic in the sporting arena. Ironically, it is athletes who often receive the adulation and worship of our society, rather than God.

Rico Tice points out that there is something terminal about sport. Athletes cannot continue indefinitely. Injury, old age and ultimately death will end their careers. Tice cites the example of Muhammad Ali. The man who claimed he was the greatest, the man who floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee is now just a shell of his former self. He can no longer walk properly or string a coherent sentence together. Isaiah’s words in chapter 40: 6-8 are particularly apt:

“…”All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass.  The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

Many sports stars live in denial of the inevitable. In the moment of glory they suspend reality believing that they may escape. Yet when reality sets in through injury or old age, it is common for athletes to become depressed as they are unable to operate apart from their identity in their sporting achievements.

The problem with sport – as with so many other areas of life – is that people want to be king of their lives and make up their own rules. Instead of acknowledging God for their talents, they live to glorify themselves. They elevate their gifts above the giver. As a result they will face judgement and the due penalty for their rejection of God. How can we they be redeemed, rescued from this predicament? The answer is the Gospel….

watch this space for upcoming installments on this theme from Jono