SPORTS AND CHRISTIANITY

Sports and Christianity: It is not my plan to post other people's sermons but because I see an urgent need for this lesson and because I know very little about sports, I have asked permission to reproduce a lesson here that ALL SPORTS LOVING CHRISTIANS need to consider.

Sports and Home Education:  A Balanced Perspective
By Norm Wakefield.

We live in a culture that is absolutely sports crazy. Professional sports with its lure of big money and fame drive sports programs from elementary programs up through college programs. Billions of dollars are spent each year by people wanting to identify themselves with pro sports teams or players. The average family with elementary school age children through high school age children probably spends more hours watching sports or playing sports than they do anything else besides sleeping. In the United States, I would go so far as to say, it has become an idol—another god.

Why do I feel that I can speak on this subject? Sports and the glory which accompanies it was a god replacement for me. My goal from the time I was twelve years old was to play for the Dallas Cowboys. Consequently, I spent approximately 3500 hours in my teen years striving to reach that goal which culminated with an invitation to try out for the Cowboys in 1972. I lettered in football, basketball, and track in high school. During college I obtained All-American honors as a defensive safety in football and played on the tennis team. I’ve coached football, basketball, and tennis at the high school level; soccer, basketball, and volleyball at the middle school level; and was a PE teacher at the elementary level. I’ve served time coaching little league baseball and youth basketball teams.

I’ve known professional athletes and am familiar with their lifestyles. Being the father of children who have been gifted with above average strength and coordination kept me involved athletically through my adult years. Finally, I’ve watched and counseled homeschooling families who have struggled with this issue.

I would like to discuss with you this issue of sports and home education with the goal of presenting a balanced and biblical perspective on sports.

What do I mean by sports? God-honoring sport or recreation is the use of some natural thing or action, not otherwise forbidden us, for (1) the exhilaration of the spirit and (2) the exercise of the body, (3) thereby preparing the mind and the body for one's ordinary duties to God.

What do I mean by balanced?  In light of our culture’s perspective on sports, we who believe Jesus Christ is Lord and are destined to eternity with Him instead of eternity here on earth should provide some balance. The scales are tipped way out of balance today in the minds of most people who call themselves Christians. In my opinion, some people react and seek to tip the scales too far to the other side.

What do I mean by biblical? I mean to apply biblical principles and truths to this subject which we apply to all other issues in life. We need to be consistent as we live to bring glory to God in every area of our lives.

I’ve learned many Christian parents face significant pitfalls when it comes to evaluating their families’ involvement in organized sports. What are the pitfalls of which wise parents need to beware?

Pitfall #1: The hope of a college scholarship.

Many parents don’t think they can afford the expenses of a college education. I can’t count the number of people who have expressed the hope their child may excel in sports so they’ll be awarded a college scholarship and the opportunity to obtain a degree and be more prepared for life. Because the degree of competition at the college level is so intense, athletes must prepare and train from the time they are in elementary school through many lessons as well as constant participation in organized sports. Although some children are gifted and certainly able to compete at the college level, parents need to consider the wisdom of the significant financial investment required to get their child skilled enough to compete.

I wonder if parents have considered some alternatives to investing such inordinate amounts of time and money on sports. For instance, if parents took the same dollar amounts spent on lessons and for organized sports and invested for college from the time they are children they may create their own scholarship fund! You might also consider that by the time your children reach college age, colleges are going to offer degrees at home which will allow your children to work and serve the kingdom of God without having to live in an ungodly college campus environment. This is already available in though some colleges (“College at Home” by Micah Wakefield available at www.spiritof elijah.com). My son, Micah, obtained an undergraduate degree for less than $7000 while pursuing many other objectives in ministry and preparation for life. Parents also need to realize college life as it is today doesn’t prepare a teen for life. In many cases, campus life destroys the values you worked eighteen years to instill in your child. The basic requirements of a typical college degree program defiles the mind with an antichrist worldview. So watch out for rationalizing a weekly schedule dominated by sports to the neglect of more important things in life.

Pitfall #2: Stewardship of Talent

Most Christian parents are familiar with the parable of the talents where God expects us to be good stewards of what He has given us. Some people misuse this parable intended to encourage an eternal perspective to rationalize over-involvement in sports to the degree they have no time for the eternal things in life. Perhaps unknowingly they testify that temporal values are more important than eternal values. We must teach our children that the talents God gives us are meant to be used for others and for the kingdom of God.

Simply because one has the talent to be a college or professional athlete doesn’t mean it is wise for him to give his heart and the majority of his time to it. A more realistic goal for your athletically inclined children than to become professionals is that they become skilled enough in a sport to earn respect with others for the purpose of witness and ministry.

The Christian perspective provides balance to the world’s view of sports in that we believe our lives are to be explained by the hope of the resurrection from the dead. What does the resurrection of Jesus Christ have to do with sports?! Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we believe our lives here in this world are temporary and everything we do here is an investment in our eternal happiness when Jesus returns and creates a new heaven and earth. When someone asks us why we do what we do, our answer should somehow incorporate the hope of the gospel. That’s our witness. There are some times when it is not wisest to give the best we have because the cause is of no lasting value. We need to ask: What is the most profitable use of our time and energy? How will our involvement in sports contribute to the objective of preparing our children to be husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, responsible employers or employees in the future? Can our use of time be redeemed more for the glory of God? When we ask these questions we’re on our way to making a wise, biblical, balanced decision regarding our children’s involvement in sports.

Pitfall #3:  Sports produces character. 

Many parents learned character and discipline from participating in organized sports, and they want their children to benefit as they did. I learned to persevere under trial and to make personal sacrifice for the good of others through sports. I’m grateful for those qualities. However, I found there was more opportunity for character defilement in sports. Sadly, it has increased today from 30 years ago. 1 Corinthians 15:33 states, “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals.” We found if our children spent 6-10 hours a week with foul-mouthed, smart aleck, adult-disrespecting fools they became desensitized and hardened to those things. Furthermore, as they get older, the exposure to more soul-entrapping, sinful habit-forming activities grew. Until your child is firmly established in his identity as your child and God’s child, the liabilities are greater.

I found I traded off preparation for being a husband and father for the temporary thrills of sports. Spending much of my teen years playing, I developed an appetite for it. Most of us are familiar with Proverbs 22:6. “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” We need to consider the appetites being developed that may last a lifetime or at least be difficult to break.  When I got married I still wanted to play, but to the destruction of my marriage and family. I was addicted to playing! I’ve found the same character and discipline I learned in sports may be learned in other activities of more temporal and eternal value. Participating on a mission team building houses in Mexico teaches perseverance under trial, personal sacrifice for the good of others, and self-control. Serving widows in your church teaches selflessness and thinking of others who are weaker–great qualities one won’t learn in competitive sports!

Pitfall #4:  The children’s sports schedules drive the family’s schedule. 

Parents and children may spend as much as 6-10 hours a week at the park and have no time together to show for it. Relationships aren’t built, family time is forfeited, the mother’s life is hectic and demanding, and the father doesn’t have time to lead his family toward the Lord because everyone is so tired and occupied.  By the end of the day, the husband’s and wife’s relationship suffers because they are both exhausted from their hectic schedule. They don’t have the energy or time to talk, pray, and be intimate.

Does the Bible provide any wisdom when it comes to this aspect of participation in sports? Consider the apostle Paul’s word to the Ephesians. He wrote, “Making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:16-18). These are the last days before Christ returns and judgment begins with the household of God. What we do with our time matters. If we do the things that matter to the Lord, there will be physical and tangible rewards for eternity. You’ll have to teach your children eternal values along with the hope that they bring. Perhaps you might calculate the time spent in sports and invest the time in ministry, service, and learning skills that will actually be put into practice when they are married and have a family.

I’ve also discovered the truth revealed in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.” If I have no vision for preparing the members of my family for their future here on earth both now and when Jesus returns, I tend to be unrestrained and go with the flow of those around me. How about you? This proverb teaches us happiness comes as a result of walking in light of the revelation given us by God about Himself, our relationship to Him, and our future with Him. Does your vision for your children’s future as husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, and disciple-makers dictate your schedule or does the children’s sports schedules?

Pitfall #5: The vicarious star.

Many parents participated in sports when they were in school and without realizing it may derive some significance or vicarious gratification as their children achieve in sports. I’ve listened to many proud parents who were so personally involved in the sports experience you would have thought they pitched the no hitter, or scored three touchdowns, or kicked the winning goal. Who of us hasn’t been embarrassed by a spectator-parent whose identity is involved in their child’s performance and victory? I’ve talked with some teens who admitted they played sports simply because they wanted their dad’s approval. They didn’t enjoy playing the game as much as their dads enjoyed their playing the game. Watch out for living your sports dreams through your children.

What are your children going to be when they grow up?

Let’s be reasonable. The chances of your child making it to the pros in any sport are very, very slim.  Trust me. Even if they could succeed at the professional level, you wouldn’t want your child to make the trade off for the more important things in life. Don’t be deceived. There is a trade to be made! If they’re going to be husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, members of the body of Christ, stewards of God’s resources, family leaders and family makers, professional sports militates against those callings in almost every way. Furthermore and foremost, you want them to be godly, with a passion for Jesus Christ, ready to enter into eternity at any moment the Lord determines. As patriarchs, who think generationally, you know how you direct your child is going to impact your grandchildren.

This is an issue of identity

Here are four key identity principles we need to take into consideration as we think about the degree of participation we allow in sports programs.

• Identity has to do with whom you belong to.
• Identity has to do with power.
• Identity has to do with whom you give the power to shape your life.
• Identity has to do with the relationship between a father and his children.

What does it mean to belong to you? If you don’t give your child purpose and meaning which will bring them hope for the future, then they will seek something to be filled with. In our culture, sports is the idol of choice. My daughter, Alyssa, was exceptionally gifted in gymnastics. By the time she was 13, we had to make a decision about her participating in a competitive, traveling squad. The hours required each week: 25-30! What made the decision for us was observing how she was beginning to view her identity as a gymnast over her identity with us and with Christ. As we discussed it, she agreed she was consumed with it. Together, we chose to reject the invitation and instead allow her to teach gymnastics which allowed her to enjoy the sport, scale back her hours to one afternoon a week, and keep her focus on maturing and growing in Christ.

If you make sports the major time consumer in the lives of your children, they may identify with the major sports figures the world has to offer. They may become the people who shape their lives and their values regardless of whether you take them to church or have brief family bible times.  They may think that by being like them, they are gaining your approval. If your children see that you are more alive to the daily sports page than you are to the word of God, then guess what they will want to do and be? We parents must be careful not to direct our children in their identity courses based on our childhood and youth idolatry of sports. We’ll find ourselves encouraging them in sports because we are vicariously living it again or as we wished we had.

Until their identity is established, to put them with other fools 6-8 hours a week and think they won’t be affected is a delusion. Before long, they’ll displaying posters of ungodly sports figures in their rooms, purchasing sports paraphernalia identifying with their hero or favorite sports team. Next thing you know, they’ll be occupied more in church thinking about the game on TV that afternoon. There’s a fine line between playing sports for fun and playing sports to be significant, but it can be found as you keep your identity focused on Jesus Christ.

What does the Bible have to say that relates to this issue?

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Time and energy are treasures God has given us. If we spend our time and energy in something, it won’t be long before it has our hearts. The direction of our children’s hearts is the key to their future.

You might ask yourself:  Does my conscience testify that we have made sports and recreation a greater treasure than the kingdom of God? Does sports have our hearts?

Colossians 2:6-8    “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.  See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” 

You might test yourself in this way:  Has our family gotten caught up with the ways of the world and its value regarding sports? How can we enjoy sports without giving it such control of our lives? Are we walking with Jesus as Lord as we spend the majority of the Lord’s Day on the soccer field? What is our witness to others if we forsake the assembling of ourselves with other believers for assembling ourselves with unbelievers in a sports event?

Colossians 3:1-2   “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”  

I found my involvement in sports to be consuming. I didn’t have the maturity as a child or as a teen to control my mind. I played, watched, or dreamed about sports constantly. It kept my mind earthbound, temporal, and self-centered. Are you using sports primarily to delight your carnal self? Do you work or study so hard all day long that you use recreation to refresh yourself rather than your relationship with Jesus Christ? Paul wrote young Timothy,

1 Timothy 4:7-8 …On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” 

Have we put too much emphasis on the physical to the neglect of the spiritual?

Titus 2:3-8 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored. Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, in order that the opponent may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.”

Is our involvement in sports militating against preparing our children for life? It seems to me involvement in sports should be considered after we’ve figured out how to disciple our children according to God’s Word.

I thought you said, “Balanced perspective”!

You might be thinking, “This seems very unbalanced the other direction.” It may seem to you that I am saying there’s no place for sports in a Christian’s life. Relax! No, I’m not. I suggest sports has a place, but its place is within the family’s purposes and goals aligned with God’s Word.

I recommend having your children play sports, but doing it as a family with other families of similar vision. For instance, you might have an exercise class as a family. Develop work-outs teaching discipline and perseverance. When Micah was twelve and had played two years in organized baseball and basketball leagues, he and I made an agreement. We traded 6-8 hours at the park each week and the hectic schedule for 2-4 hours of one-on-one time playing sports together. We played sports we can play the rest of our lives together such as tennis or ping-pong (Yes, you can get a good workout when you learn to play at a higher level). He’s so good now; I can’t compete with him!

As you play sports with your children, you are teaching them what is important to you and to the Lord. We’re to enjoy the abilities God gave us and many sports enable us to do so, but I encourage you to keep them in an eternal perspective. What will you say to people when they ask about your level of involvement in sports?  I hope you’ll take the opportunity to tell them about the impact Jesus’ resurrection has made on your life. What a great opportunity to witness to the gospel of God in Christ and the light of the glory of God which is to be yours in Christ—and that’s a far greater glory than a stadium of people cheering for a touchdown, a home run, or a winning goal that won’t be remembered a year later.

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