The instinct to compete runs deep in the human condition. That is sometimes hard to reconcile with a vibrant Christian faith, knowing that our calling is to put others before ourselves…which is why God invented sports.
Sports is one of the healthiest exercises we can undertake in our quest for character-building. Competition, in the best sense, is a joint effort to pull out the very best of ourselves. The first glorious aspect of competition is the struggle within yourself. No matter the sport, there is an internal push to be better, to try harder, to give your very best. That’s what God wants from us in every situation, but sports sure are a fun way to practice for it. One of the reasons I love golf is that the battle is fought almost entirely within your own head. But so is a free throw. In every sport, your engagement from within is a huge factor. Most people call it the mental game, but it goes way deeper than that.
The second glorious aspect of competition is that most of the time you get to measure yourself against someone else. Ah, the opportunities for growth! The unidentified fruit of the Spirit is sportsmanship. You can almost immediately spot an athlete who was taught sportsmanship at an early age. Sports promote equality in that they nurture respect for your opponent—someone trying to the same thing as you are, probably just as hard. There are not many human endeavors that have promoted racial equality as beneficially as sports. One of the hardest things that God tries to teach us is that you can lose just as nobly as you win.
The third glorious aspect of competition is that you get to compete with, not against, someone. In most sports, you get at least one teammate! How cool is that? You’re trying as hard as you can to perform your best, and so is he/she/they—and you’re working together, and you have the same goal. You want each other to do the best you can; you encourage each other; you energize each other. There is nothing you would rather be doing, and neither would he/she/they. The divine pleasure of camaraderie.
An adjunct to all these positive joyful benefits is the legacy. Many sports experiences are passed down from generation to generation. Do you realize how much exquisite parent/child time that affords? And that doesn’t even address the possibility of coaching your child (and the team). It’s hard to find much better teaching moments. Yes, I’ve seen enough berserko parent sports videos—and witnessed firsthand the impossibility of objectivity when evaluating your own child’s performance—but for every parent I’ve seen go over an edge, I’ve seen hundreds provide support and encouragement and joy. God smiles when families play games.
My parents gave little support to my childhood athletic exploits ( and I was a decent athlete). I quit competitive sports my sophomore year when my dad kicked me off the basketball team for grades. A year later I was smoking and drinking and making worse grades. I’m not blaming Dad for my shallow character—but sports could have helped.
All three of our children explored various sports in their childhoods before they settled on playing tennis for their dad. Only one of them extended organized competitive sports beyond high school, but I am proud of the people all three have become, and I know that playing sports was a factor in their character development. And, boy, I had fun with all three of them!
Now I get to watch my granddaughters enter into the grandeur and glory of sports. A nice change that I have been witnessing in our societal perspective is the acceptance and encouragement of female competition. All of those positive benefits that I’ve listed above about sports participation…they are completely genderless. When I watch my son teaching his daughter a skill, it is with the same intensity (maybe more) that I used to teach him. I realize that sports gender equality has not come close to filtering up to the professional level yet, but it appears to be moving upward. I am glad.
Every good thing comes from above—I believe God takes great enjoyment in our games and contests. I am reminded of my favorite line from Chariots of Fire, spoken by an Olympic athlete: “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” I feel the same way about certain golf shots.
Thank you Dallin — I do enjoy your writing — as I age my perspective has changed on some issues, memories are sweeter and what I value isn’t material. When I reminisce about the boys sports Mom is always part of the memories. She didn’t miss very many opportunities to watch her grandsons. She loved sports — We joked she would watch a prison team play anything!! I am glad your writings make me pause and pay attention to my faith. I am fearful I will fall short of God’s expectations and I try to be and do better! I want to see my Mom again and it is a prayer I say daily. Thank you — God is good
Enjoyed this — we loved watching the boys play sports — and I know I was very invested — as I look back! I am confident that Russ played the sport he was meant to play in high school and college. Jake played tennis as a default and I have always felt sad. I knew his love was baseball and he was really talented. I can still see his face and the pain of not making the cut — not because of skill but size! Told come back next year when you are bigger! . He turned his back on baseball . lessons to be learned that life is difficult, not always fair ( in your eyes) But sports did allow for many positive lessons, teamwork, health, improvement in skills. I know we always valued sportsmanship — period. One more quick story ( sorry) Do you remember the Jake that played during Beth and Russ’s years? He was playing a kid from Churchill who was one of the worst behaved kids I have ever seen! That kid threw his jug, smashed a racquet all in frustration cause this Clemens kid was beating him- his Mom yelled words of encouragement and he in turn told her to “shut the f#@* up! Can’t remember who asked Russ “what would your parents do? But I remember Russ saying it would be “tough to play tennis on the end of my Dad’s foot!” I know we butted heads at times Dallin, but I loved the years my boys played tennis! I enjoy reading your writings and hope even when I don’t comment that you know I am reading — and I like the spiritual journey you are helping my soul take. I have been lost in my faith for awhile — being raised Catholic there is not the encouragement to read the Bible — at all! And so we recite our prayers with the sameness as saying the Pledge. Continue please to inspire me to be better. Enjoy sir and a warm hug and hello to Karen please. I apologize for my rambling!
Barb—can’t tell you how much encouragement your response gave me. I am blessed that both of your boys ended up playing tennis for Clemens. I was thinking about it—I can’t remember a single time I had to go on court and talk about their behavior—I can’t even say that about my own kids. Boy, those were times, weren’t they? It was your mom (and Jake) that broke down the barriers between me and you. It touches me that what I write might encourage you spiritually. That’s all I want to do. Isn’t it amazing how good God has been as we look back on our lives? Again, thank you. Btw, tonight ‘s was directed at us (old people). I hope you like it.