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One of the places where I have seen godly Christians spiral into a death spin of bad behavior is when they play sports. I used to play pick-up basketball games at my church in the early mornings (I was a non-shooting, non-dribbling point guard, that is to say, I am no good at basketball), and I enjoyed this because it was a fun way to get some exercise. But I quickly became disenchanted with it and stopped playing. Why? Because a number of the men I played with thought they were reliving their glory days from high school or college and took the game quite seriously—too seriously. They would get quite upset or even angry when things didn’t go well. I can understand playing to win—I always do this when I play any kind of game—I play for keeps and take no prisoners when I play Candy Land with my kids! But I also don’t make a big deal if I lose. You win some, you lose some. A similar pattern holds true for watching sports. I’ve seen some of the meekest and mildest saints yell at the TV when things go wrong and hurl insults at the officials or players. Is this just the way things are supposed to be? Are sports a detached part of the Christian life where we can set aside our sanctification and act like the prima Dona athlete? Quite simply, no.
The sports arena, whether we play or observe, is a microcosm of life. It reveals the true nature of our character. If we act humbly off the court but then act like a pompous jerk on the court, then something is definitely amiss. If we treat people kindly in person but then erupt in a rage of passion when we watch a ballgame, something is off kilter. I’m sure we get tired of hearing the cliché, “It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, but it’s how you play the game that really matters.” As old as the cliché is, it’s very true. This is something I’m starting to teach my son, who just started playing team sports. I told him, “If you score a goal, great! But don’t rub it in the other team’s face. It could be that you’ll score a goal, celebrate like you won the super bowl, and then get served as you lose the game by ten points.” My point with my son is to win with joy but with humility. Conversely, I want him to lose with pride and joy. In other words, when he comes off the field after a loss, I want to ask him, “Did you do your very best? If you did, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Hold your head high. You simply got beat by a better team. Use this as motivation to practice harder and win the next game.” In other words, sports is a microcosm of life and it’s important that you carry your sanctification with you when you’re both on and off the field.
The close connection between sanctification and sports, I believe, is often forgotten and overlooked. Paul, for example, invoked the analogy of sports to illustrate the Christian life: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we van imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:24-26). Paul’s use of these sports analogies (running and boxing) illuminate the nature of our sanctification—the Christian life requires discipline, practice, and can be hard but nevertheless rewarding. But there’s a sense in which the analogy can also run backwards—the sports arena is the place where you can practice the discipline of your sanctification as you face the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat all in a Christ-like manner.
