Resources
 Devotions
Adult League Devotions: Week 1
Introduction
Over the next few weeks we will be looking at what the Bible says about
sport. Is there a theology of sport? For those of us who are involved
in sport as Christians, this is a fundamental question. We need to
understand sport as God sees it. We need to help others in our team,
ministry or church to understand it. But, whether you are a Christian
or not, it is still an intriguing question.
I believe passionately that God is interested in all of human life and
that must include sport. Over the next few weeks, we will try to
understand more of what the Bible says about sport and how that should
affect us.
'In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth; and God saw all that
he had made and it was very good'. - Genesis 1:1, 31
If you want to know the Biblical view of adultery, it is not difficult
to find it. God has said it is wrong. In the Ten Commandments you read,
"You shall not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14). In order to work out
God's view of sport we have to look into the Biblical principles and
apply them to sport, in the same way as we would need to do with a host
of human activities.
Genesis is the first book of the Bible and contains an account of the
creation of the world. Two things are clear:
1. God is the creator of every single thing in his world.
2. The created things are pronounced over and over again to be good
(Genesis 1:10, 12, 17, etc)
So did God create sport? The answer is yes and no! Of course God did
not create sport - people did. It wasn't God who shot the ball and
invented the game of basketball. God did not create the games we play.
Yet it was God who created people and made them able to run, jump, kick
and catch. Sport is simply organized play in which we can use the
talents God has given us.
In the film Chariots of Fire, the words are attributed to Eric Liddell
(1924 Olympic gold medallist), "God made me for a purpose, but he also
made me fast and when I run, I feel his pleasure." I am convinced that
as we run, kick, play and compete we can equally bring glory to God.
It
is good!
In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth and God saw that it was
good. (Genesis 1:1, 10)
Many of us were brought up to believe a kind of dualism - the belief
that spirit (or reason) is inherently good and matter inherently evil.
We think that an imaginary line may be drawn. All the important things
about being a Christian, reading your Bible, praying and worshipping
God, being faithful to your church, are above the line. They are good.
Below the line is everything else that isn't spiritual - having a good
time with your friend, playing sports, the arts, music, going out for
dinner, sex, watching TV are things people tend to consider
"unspiritual".
Genesis 1 rules out this kind of dualism. Everything that exists is
created by God and is, in itself, good. Of course how we use God's
creation and how we act may please God or displease him.
Genesis 1 tells us several times that God saw that it [what he had
created] was good. The thought is repeated in 1 Timothy 4:4, "For everything God created is
good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving."
God's creation is good and it is to be enjoyed. The material world
matters and it is OK to enjoy it. We are not to feel guilty when we
enjoy the physical or the material, thinking that we should really be
more spiritual. For us that includes sports. It all come down to a
right perspective.
Let’s thank God for sports; the healthy benefits, the joy it brings us,
and the life lessons we can take from them, and get out on the
field/court/track and enjoy them.
Discussion
Questions:
1. What are
your thoughts on what you’ve just Read/Heard?
2. What are
some “Life Lessons” we can take from Sports?
3. What’s the
“Take-A-Way” for tonight?
 This
devotion
is available for download. Click
here to download in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.
Credit:
This devotion was written by Rich Green, Sports Minister at Mount
Pleasant Christian Church (Greenwood, Indiana) and adapted from
devotional writings from Stuart Weir.
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