Introduction
We have now come to the conclusion of this series of messages on athletics and the Christian community. A number of you have commented to me that the areas where application can be made extend far beyond the lines on the field or court. These are principles that can and should be applied consistently throughout the course of our lives. That is entirely true.
But even with that said, why? Why spend two-and-a-half months talking about sports from the pulpit? In this concluding message, I want to answer that question by appealing to the biblical duty of Christian watchfulness.
The Text
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23).
Summary of the Text
Our text is straightforward. Heart maintenance is an ongoing duty for the believer. Moreover, it is a duty to be pursued with care and diligence. This is not something to be done by means of cruise control. There is no autopilot feature on this vehicle. From the heart proceed all the issues of life—the goings out and the comings in, the on-ramps and the exit ramps, the applications and the things you refuse to do. All of that proceeds from the heart, and so the believer is firmly instructed to stand guard over his heart.
This is a duty commended in many places, and not just here. “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13). “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2). “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Tim. 4:16). “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer” (1 Pet. 4:7). “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward” (2 John 8). This is something we should have learned in our athletic pursuits. Let us call it “heads up Christianity.” There are few things worse than a daydreaming outfielder who has the ball bounce off his head.
Preach Where the Problems Are
Certain problems in Christian communities are caused by old age. Congregations can grow hardened and sclerotic. The boomer concrete hardens. But that’s not our problem. Around 40% of our broad kirker community is age 13 and under, and hundreds of them are involved in athletic competition. We have over 300 kids who are 5 and under. This is not something we have ever had to deal with before. It is a new area for discipleship, with fresh challenges. It is new territory for us.
In Acts 6, the church there also had their “growing pains” problems. The Hellenistic widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. The difficulty became manifest, the apostles dealt with it scripturally, and as a consequence the church continued to grow (Acts 6:6-7).
The reason for this series of messages is that it was becoming apparent that our community did not have a shared biblical worldview when it came to athletics. We do with regard to hospitality. And with regard to psalm-singing. And with regard to courtship. And with regard to Christian education. But when it came to athletics, a lot of us were just winging it. The end result has been various forms of injustice, egalitarianism, thumbs on the scales, along with any number of other bumps and bruises.
The Snares of Self-Deception
In a situation like this, under conditions like this, self-deception becomes perilously easy. When you are being watchful, this is what you must watch for. Many parents and coaches go into this endeavor with little more guiding them than the force of their personality and the dim memories of how they were coached back in the day.
- We deceive ourselves when we simply copy the world’s way of doing things. “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise” (1 Cor. 3:18).
- We deceive ourselves when we overestimate our own importance or abilities. “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.” (Gal. 6:3).
- We deceive ourselves when we assume that whatever we happen to be thinking constitutes knowledge automatically. “And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know” (1 Cor. 8:2).
- We deceive ourselves when we don’t execute on what we know. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
- We deceive ourselves when we assume that the sin problem must necessarily be in the other person. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).
All these things come together when we hear a word that convicts us, a word that touches our hearts, and we immediately begin the work of sandpapering and adjusting the lesson so that it fits in with the way we already were, or with what we were already doing. But the thing you should be looking for in all of this is an area of your life and practice where you can make a decided and significant change.
More Harm Than Good
When church services culminate in the Lord’s Supper, it is a very great sacramental blessing, one of the very greatest blessings that God has given us. And yet, when it is despised or mishandled, Paul can say, “Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse” (1 Cor. 11:17).
Reasoning by analogy, if it is the case that athletic competition is an area of life in which lessons of deep sanctification can be learned, it is also the case that the opposite can happen. Great and lasting damage can also be done. And the damage is caused by the attitude that says, “Here am I, Lord . . . send Aaron.”
Surrender to Christ’s Spirit in Principle
So before you know what all the changes in your life are going to be, surrender to the Spirit of God. Surrender completely. Your prayer should be something like, “Lord, I do not know the details of what my life should be like, but you do. Please do to me whatever it takes.” In other words, whatever degrees of wisdom, holiness and joy are possible in a forgiven sinner’s life . . . you should want that. You should be leaning toward it, like a runner coming to the finish line. And never forget that the finish line is Christ Himself.