Athletics and Christian Community #7

Introduction

God created mankind with a thirst for glory. We do not fulfil our creational purpose apart from glory. The very definition of sin is to fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Because we were created for glory, and because the Fall did not erase that desire in us, but merely twisted it, we are left with three options. We either yearn to return to the true glory that the gospel offers, or we settle for vain glory—worldly trinkets—or we find ourselves sinking down into a desire for dark glory—perversion and kink.

The Text

“[God] will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life . . . But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile” (Romans 2:6–10).

Summary of the Text

Scripture teaches us over and over again that God is not mocked, and that a man reaps what he sows (Gal. 6:7). In our text, God renders to each man according to his deeds (v. 6). And what is the good and gracious attitude that God will reward? He rewards those who through patient perseverance seek for glory, honor, and immortality (v. 7), and He rewards them with eternal life. Seeking for glory and honor and immortality is a foundational duty. And a few verses later, he repeats the point, applying it to Jew and Gentile both, and in that order. He blesses them with glory, honor and peace.

It is therefore a Christian duty to pursue glory. We must learn how to pursue glory. We need to take lessons in it.  

Athletic Glory

Now we have been arguing that there is great value in athletic competition to the extent that we are learning, in microcosm, and with a ball involved, the ways in which we ought to be behaving throughout the rest of our lives. You learn perseverance on the field, and this helps you with those 12-hour days ten years later. You learn the instincts of fair play from a good coach, and this means that you do not become a shady businessman. You learn courage on the court, and this helps you in an actual battle when ultimate courage is required. And so on.

Of course our text from Romans is talking about salvation glory—spiritual glory. But God gives us countless daily opportunities to practice for the great things in the little things. After all, every morning when you get it is nothing other than resurrection practice.

We need to remember that athletics is a realm that traffics in honors. We have awards banquets at the season’s end. We have MVPs. We have district champions and state champions. We have school records, with inscribed names right next to them. We have state records. We have team captains. And we should realize all of these things are useful instruments for us in learning how to understand glory, and in learning how to pursue that glory.

Because—remember—you are supposed to pursue lesser glories, provided you are doing it in a way that shapes and fits your character in and for your pursuit of the greatest glory of all. Run for the great prize and use all the lesser prizes as rungs on the ladder, teaching you how it is done. Lesser honors should get you closer to your goal and not pull you away. They are lessons, not a substitution.

Vain Glory Will Be the Temptation

Athletics is not the realm where people are tempted by dark glory. That would be a temptation for the theater kids, or philosophy majors. Another sermon series at another time perhaps.

So in the pursuit of true glory, and in the avoidance of vain glory, there are three things to remember:

• Vain glory wants to steer the conversation around to your accomplishments. And when you are done talking about what you did, you want the other person to start talking about what you did. But Scripture says not to be like that. “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; A stranger, and not thine own lips” (Proverbs 27:2).
• Vain glory is attracted to over-the-top celebratory displays. Remember the coach who forbade end zone celebrations because he wanted his players to act like they had been there before. Hit the home run, but don’t flip the bat. At the same time, you are not a Stoic or a block of wood—so celebrate like a Christian. Clap your hands three times. Maybe two, just to be safe. “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).
• Vain glory is conceited and is hungry to be peacock cool. There is such a thing as ostentatious “drip,” and yes that is a thing, and it is the vibe that thinks you can’t really be expected to play ball at the higher levels unless you can drive to the game in designer sunglasses. “Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts” (Luke 20:46). If you are wondering at my use of this particular text, it is a different uniform, different sport, but the same sin. We do not want to be a community that grows show poodles.

Always remember the apostle’s charge—“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Whatsoever you do. Vain glory in all its forms displaces any serious attempt to glorify God. Vain glory drives out true glory. We are after high achievement, but with a spirit of steady sober-mindedness. “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men” (Proverbs 22:29, NKJV).

Greatly Honored, Greatly Humbled

One of the curiosities of the English language is this one. If an athlete receives an MVP award, and he makes a few remarks at the podium while holding the award, he can say the same thing in two completely different ways. He could say I am greatly honored or he could say I am greatly humbled. And the curiosity is that the two phrases express the same sentiment.

The blending of these two expressions, with both of them being accurate and true, is only possible through the grace of God. Only He can bring these two things together. We are humbled at the Last Day. We are unworthy servants, only having done what was required of us (Luke 17:10). But this is the same event where God says to us, “Well done, good and faithful servants” (Matt. 25: 21, 23). Faithful servants are humbled and honored in the same moment.

So always play the game such that the winning of the game would be received by you both as a great honor and as a humbling experience. That is the work of the Spirit of God in your life. That is how it must go when Christ is present and active. And you can be reassured when it happens because only Christ can do it.