Sports and the Gospel of Jesus Christ

I vividly remember one fall morning during my childhood when I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to lay my eyes on the sports page. The previous evening, my favorite team, the New York Yankees (hopefully this does not already cause you to close this book!), were taking on the Atlanta Braves in game four of the 1996 World Series. The Yankees were not only trailing the series, two games to one, but they were also trailing in game four, 6-0, when my parents sent me to bed because it was unfortunately past my bedtime. I reluctantly went to sleep thinking that the Yankees would be staring at a three games to one deficit against the feared Braves, but upon reaching the sports page that morning, my eyes widened as I read the score: YANKEES 8, BRAVES 6. I recall yelling at my mom, “They won!” I then ran upstairs and discussed with my dad the drama that must have unfolded in the Yankees historic comeback.

Memories like these are the joys that sports often provide the modern American heart. All sports fans can recall the greatest joys that they have relished in through the avenue of sports. Growing up, I was blessed to attend numerous professional sporting events with my dad. These experiences will always be treasured, because not only did they feature memories associated with sports but also memories associated with my dad. Opportunities such as these make sports one of the most enjoyable bridges that can connect people to one another.

There is something about being a fan and enjoying the excitement of sports in community. A few years back, I attended the coldest game in Chicago Bear history with my dad and best friend. We wore layer upon layer- looking quite silly, like we were prepared for an arctic blizzard- but so did everyone else as raucous Soldier Field cheered on the Bears against the arch nemesis, the Green Bay Packers. I remember slapping high fives with anyone around as the Bears eked out an overtime victory. Such an experience will never be forgotten and I cannot help but long for a similar opportunity in the future.

For many devoted sports fans, such experiences bring some of the greatest joys in life. Enjoying a game, whether watching in person or even on television, is purely fun. It is especially fun when it unites families, friends, and communities. People communing together to support the local team is invigorating. Conversing and even arguing about sports can be deeply pleasurable. ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption features two sports reporters bickering about the latest sports headlines, and there is something about this that we, as sports fans, love and constantly support.

Sports simply provide an avenue for people to connect, whether it is a father with his son or perhaps people from drastically different cultures. It is one of the few bridges that people from various cultures, ethnicities, and ages can aptly enjoy and discuss. The venue of sports is unique like this in a vast set of ways.

Surely sports are enjoyed as fans, and they are also undoubtedly enjoyed through participation. Most athletes have a particular game, moment, and victory that characterize their enjoyment of sports. There are some athletic memories that will simply never fade. These pinnacle moments are the reason why sports are played, because there is beauty in competition and triumph. There is glory in working harder than the opponent and devising strategies to bring success.

There is also unity through participation in sports, such as on football teams, where there is a constant camaraderie that the team carries- a “brotherhood” of tenacity, strength, and masculinity. On most successful teams, there is a growing bond of harmony and even vulnerability, where the team functions more like a family. There is something enlivening about this that makes us want to be a part.

Whether just a sports fan or an avid participant, there are numerous facets that endear one to the sporting world, and all the reasons center upon the fact that sports are one of the most enjoyed aspects of life. The entertainment, competition, drama, hope, and potential for glory that come through sports attract all kinds of people, and because of this, sports and the ability to enjoy athletics should be celebrated.

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It is obvious that there are reasons in which sports provide enjoyment, but all sports fans and athletes know that sports do not always provide enjoyment. In fact, often times, sports bring disappointment. Think about professional sports, where there are around thirty teams in each league and only one wins the championship while the rest hope for next year. The Chicago Cubs are the prime example of a team in which being a fan has carried recurring waves of disappointment. Having not won a World Series since 1908, there have been chapters of disappointing seasons, games, and storylines that have taken place over the years, and these disappointments have greatly outweighed the successes.

Disappointment also typically occurs more than success in the heart of an athlete. For many athletes, their greatest athletic failures shine brighter than their successes. There are even some professional athletes whose careers are characterized by one fatal flaw that they have made. The reality is that most athletes are not the ones who win the race, make the buzzer beating shot, get the game winning hit, etc. There are some athletes who have enjoyed such moments, but athletes more frequently endure grimacing occasions of defeat and disgust. There is the famous Michael Jordan commercial where he declares how many times he missed the game winning shot. Even the most acclaimed athlete in our society has often failed in his pursuit of success.

Despite these disappointments, sports fans and athletes will continually return to sports. The truth is that the common presence of disappointment makes the potential for glory all the more rewarding. For Boston Red Sox fans, winning the World Series in 2004 was not just a year in which success was on their side, but it was an epic event in which years of disappointment, having not won a World Series since 1918, was finally in their grasp. All the years of disappointment made this climactic season all the more satisfying. It is reasons such as this that we remain fans of our loyal teams, holding to the slim hope that glory is just around the corner.

The potential for glory and success is also what pushes an athlete through the disappointments that one encounters. Just about every athlete embraces a heartbreaking defeat, an embarrassing performance, an untimely injury, or whatever else, and has to seek for creative ways to overcome such discouragement through perseverance and optimism. It is opportunities like this that make sports special and which separate the great athletes from the good ones. The common presence of disappointment through sports is in actuality what makes sports enjoyable. Sports would get boring if everybody always won and no one went home disappointed. This would defeat the purpose of competition. People are drawn to sports because the potential for success creates an arena for excitement, and while most fans and athletes experience periods and often years of frustration, the fervor of each new season remains.

These common patterns that I have outlined make it evident that whether sports bring enjoyment or disappointment, there is something endearing about them. Our culture delights in sports as much as any other “topic” we can find in the newspaper. They are enjoyable, and the reality is that this enjoyment stems from the depths of how we were made. We were created to desire community and fellowship and sports presents one of the most tangible opportunities to experience this. We were also made to desire creative play and to enjoy the ways that our bodies and minds are wired. These capabilities can be specifically displayed through various sports, and it is beautiful thing when we embrace these desires and gifts.

The interesting thing about the dynamics surrounding sports in America is that they are often more than just enjoyed. The draw to sports can easily become about establishing an identity or fantasizing about a false reality. What I mean by this is that our culture can alter an enjoyment of sports into a worship of sports. In different realms of life, we are prone toward taking a good thing and making it into an ultimate thing. For instance, money can be a good thing but if it becomes an ultimate thing, it can quickly become a means of greed, manipulation, and self-absorption. In the same way, sports can be a good thing that is to be enjoyed, but if it becomes an ultimate thing, it soon absorbs our identity, worship, pride, and satisfaction.

When Enjoyment Becomes Idolatry

God, in Scripture, declares that He created man in His own image (Gen. 1:26-27) and that he intricately crafted each person (Psalm 139:13-15). He made each person with a unique set of gifts, talents, and abilities. As a result of these wonderful gifts that God has bestowed on His created people, there are some who possess pure enjoyment through watching or participating in creative sports.

Throughout history, a myriad of sports have been fashioned by mankind, and some possess extraordinary ability to excel at these games. There are also some who contain a mental capacity to succeed in such endeavors, and it is obvious that God has blessed His creation with the ability to enjoy the way that our bodies function, and to even delight in watching the ability of how He has created specific individuals who have remarkable gifts and abilities. Because of this, the sports that have been formed over the years are enriching activities that should be seen as gifts from God. However, the fallen and imperfect status of humanity causes good gifts to be distorted and used for selfish gain, which is a reality that is distinctly prevailing in the empire of modern sports.

You may wonder- well, where is the evidence that this is taking place? Or- how do we know that an idolization of sports is taking place in our contemporary culture? Truthfully, there are a handful of routes in which “evidence” of these destructive patterns are prevalent. Allow me to share an example from recently viewing the Super Bowl.

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers recently defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers to capture Super Bowl XLV, and after the game, media personnel and cameras continually surrounded Rodgers as he was awarded the game’s MVP. As I sat there watching on television, I naturally thought to myself, “This man has got it all. What more in life could you ask for?” Aaron Rodgers had just won a Super Bowl and was awarded the MVP, and he would now soak up an offseason of accolades and praise everywhere he went. Everything you could ever ask for in this world was in his grasp- power, fame, glory, money, sex appeal, etc. I do not know what kind of person Aaron Rodgers is, and I would never want to imply that he would indulge in any of these realities, but the point is that our culture’s portrayal of Rodgers reveals a man on top of the world. As an observer, you cannot help but think that Aaron Rodgers holds the key to happiness. Examples like these are what our culture preaches to us through the arena of sports. These athletes hold a badge of identity that we cannot help but adore.

Another evidence of idolatry in sports would be the competitive advantages that athletes seek, such as steroids, particularly in the game of baseball. Imagine how baseball once began, as a delightful game in one’s backyard with a bat and ball. And now, players are injecting themselves with human growth hormones so they can hit the ball farther and pitch the ball faster. Where along the way did things get corrupted?

We can also see loads of evidence in the way that we participate in sports. Through God’s creation, creative play was something to be enjoyed in community and to delight in together. This surely does still take place, but many of our sports focus on the glory of the individual. Even in team sports, certain players’ skills are elevated and it can be easy to worship or want to be one of these players- all because these types of players receive worldly praise and honor. This can make the motivation to be successful in sports centered upon selfish pride, where we seek to establish an identity based on success in sports.

Not only that, but sports have become a breeding grounds for envy. Athletes can often view other athletes as threats to their identity, and they thus hope for devastation upon their opponents. It is one thing to desire competitive victory, but it is another thing to yearn for the degradation of an opponent because of envy. Curiously, such envy can even take place within a team, where teammates are battling for places of identity and threaten the status of one another. Whatever the case, sports can easily become an amphitheater for selfish pride and envy, which is a clear perversion of how God has wired humanity to flourish together and enjoy His good gifts.

Do not misunderstand what I am saying here. Competition through sports is a good thing, and the ideas regarding selfish pride and envy should not imply that desiring victory or working hard to be a great athlete are bad things. In fact, these are wonderful things that bring glory to God, but the worry is when sports become the grounds for a self-centered identity, where we seek fulfillment through sports and subtly believe that they hold the key to satisfaction. The aforementioned examples provide some distinct evidence that sports often reach a point where they are not merely an enjoyment, but scarily function more like a god that is bowed down to.

We are prone to making sports into the “ultimate” thing in life, and we deify them into an idol. Timothy Keller defines an idol like this, “It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”[i] This definition makes it apparent that idolatry is not just common in the 21^st century sporting world, but it is the widespread norm.

Badges of Identity

Most of us have heard the cliché, “It’s just a game.” This can be one’s attempt to help an individual get over a disappointing loss, but the reality is that this often does not appear to be true. From an earthly perspective, sports are not merely games, but as stated before, badges of identity. One who succeeds in sports in our culture is not simply considered a “good athlete,” but is typically regarded as an icon to be recognized. A prime example would be Lebron James during his days with the Cleveland Cavaliers. His nickname was “King James” and all of his fans wore shirts that simply read, “Witness.” This makes it evident that Lebron James had reached a “god-like” status in our culture, and his “witnesses” possessed the opportunity to bow down to his exploits. It is safe to say that Lebron James has never been regarded as merely a “good basketball player,” but as an icon of fame, identity, and glory.

These types of norms have pervasive effects on the ways that we watch sports as fans, and in the way that we participate. As sports fans, we relish in latching onto an individual who possesses the characteristics of fame, identity, and glory, and we exalt these players to thrones in our culture. Good athletes should be celebrated, but we can all agree that many athletes reach a place where they are worshiped by society.

These effects are then seen in the way that we participate in athletics. We witness the glory that surrounds these professional stars and our deepest inward aspirations soon center upon being just like them. “I want to be like Mike,” was the famed slogan that exalted Michael Jordan during the 1990’s, and such patterns continue today. Athletes soon begin to yearn for praise and accolades so that they may be recognized and relish in personal pride and establish their own badges of identity. There is nothing wrong with aspiring to be a successful athlete, just as there is nothing wrong with a child aspiring to be similar to his father, but the concern is that these aspirations soon turn into an idolization that warps one’s identity.

When such an idolization takes place, sports are not merely games that people enjoy, where they delight in this gift of God and also recognize that God is the Creator of these gifts. Rather, they are deified into a place of worship. Romans 1:25 declares, “they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” How common is it to worship the creature who excels in these sports, even desiring to become like that creature? We are prone toward his type of worship, rather than recognizing the transcendent God who has created us all, allowing the enjoyment of sports to increase our worship of Him.

I would argue that all athletes and sports fans are prone to indwelling some of these habits. We live in a corrupted world, and it takes a new vision of reality to see through some of the common patterns that destruct our world. We are all vulnerable to struggling with the idolization of sports because thinking of sports as our idols is, frankly, the normal way that a 21^st century American participatory athlete or fan thinks. It is going to take a reconstructed worldview that is countercultural to break down some of these steady barriers.

The Hope of the Gospel

The grand story of God is manifested in the gospel, where God sends His only Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue mankind from sin and the present darkness that looms over humanity. The gospel is supremely good news that is difficult for us to even begin to comprehend. Pivotal to this reality is an understanding of how the world is enslaved to sin. The apostle Paul talks about the “cosmic powers over this present darkness” that are misleading, causing dissension, and insinuating a lack of harmony amongst mankind (Ephesians 6:12). There is something much bigger going on in the cosmos than what we can readily perceive, and we are all susceptible to being influenced by the fallen status of our world and the “cosmic powers over this present darkness.”

Because of the deception of these “powers” and the presence of spiritual warfare, we are prone to view reality through an earthly lens. As a result, our view toward life is skewed toward what our culture preaches and through what appears to be true. The “present darkness” looming over humanity leads us astray and there is a need for peace, justice, reconciliation, and redemption. This is where the beauty of the gospel creates hope. Paul states in Colossians 1:13-14, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Jesus Christ presents the only way to find redemption amidst mankind’s enslavement to sin and the deceptive powers. God, in a remarkable display of love, has rescued mankind by sending Jesus Christ. In Philippians, Paul expounds on the humility and obedience of Christ, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).

God took the fall of humanity on Himself by sending Jesus, and in turn, a faith in Him is our hope for redemption. And, in an immaculate display of power, Jesus resurrected from the dead, revealing His power over sin and the “powers” seeking to bring deception to the world. As a result of this grand story that God has written through Jesus Christ, we possess hope, even amidst the current age. We live in an interesting age, because Jesus has come and resurrected, but we still await the coming/future age, when the fullness of restoration and freedom will be present. However, in this current age, we can enjoy freedom and peace but we are still influenced by the deceptive powers that remain busy.

Thus, it takes an understanding of God’s character and faith in the redemption of Christ to help form a new reality in the believer in Jesus. This instigates a radically new identity- an identity that reshapes one’s character, one’s view of life, and one’s view of God. The glory of this all is that God, in Jesus Christ, has brought freedom and hope, and because of this, our view of Him should wildly increase and prompt a yearning to see reality through the lens of God’s loving redemption, rather than the deceptive “powers” that seek to bring enslavement.

In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul highlights the characteristics of what it means to be “in Christ” and how dramatically life changing this reality is. Paul details this in a way where being “in Christ” does not merely mean that we adapt certain beliefs, but that the way life is viewed is altered. A new vision of life is instilled, a vision that brings newness, peace, hope, and a trajectory that has heavenly implications rather than earthly.

The beauty and good news of the gospel comes to give one an identity that is firmly planted in the goodness and love of Jesus Christ. Paul even prays in Ephesians 3 that the believers be “rooted and grounded in love.” God’s love was not supposed to be seen as an isolated principle, but as a glorious reality that infused them with an inward and outward transformation.

Attempting to highlight the beauty of the gospel is no easy task. What should be clear is the love of Christ and the wondrous implications that the gospel brings. The interesting thing about this is that God sent His Son to die so that mankind could “win.” A former professor of mine, Timothy Gombis, puts it like this, “God triumphs through the death of Jesus Christ. That is, Jesus wins by losing. This confounds our human reasoning, since we are used to winning by winning. We triumph through trouncing our enemies. But this is not God’s way. God gives himself up, taking on the brokenness of the world and going to death on our behalf. God raised Jesus from the dead and exalted him as cosmic Lord, indicating that the mode of life for God’s people is cruciformity- purposefully patterning our lives after the cross of Jesus Christ.”[ii]

Gombis also notes that God’s working is “radically subversive,” as it obviously goes against the grain of human logic.[iii] The phrase “cruciformity” introduces us to the subversive nature of God that was displayed in Jesus Christ. As a result of Christ’s death on our behalf, believers should grow rooted in the love of God and in a growing “cruciformity,” where a steady trajectory of becoming more like Christ is decisively evident. The apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:4, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” This verse makes it clear that the glorious reality of the gospel and God’s expression of love toward mankind should be received with an utter sense of gratitude, causing one to establish “newness” in the way life is lived.

Understanding these gospel implications is crucial because they have effects on all facets of life. A believer in Jesus comes to view aspects of life differently, such as work, marriage, family, and friendships. I say this all because believers should also come to view the arena of sports differently. But unfortunately, merging the gospel and sports can quickly get complicated. We just examined the essence of the gospel and how Jesus won by losing. Thus, what implications does the gospel have on sports? We certainly do not win by losing in competition!

As has been discussed throughout this chapter, sports in this fallen world are contaminated and easily promote selfish pride and egoism. Sports often pull people a part rather than push them together. There are loads of dynamics in the sporting world that are corrupted, evidencing the influence of the “powers over this present darkness.” This makes it hard to know where to begin in discussing the need for “cruciformity.” There are no quick fixes in seeking to implement godliness into sports, and that is why this discussion should magnify an in-depth approach that engages the culture of sports and the vision of Scripture.

Sports and the Gospel

As magnified earlier in this chapter, sports are undoubtedly a huge bridge to people, as people from every nation, tribe, tongue, and language can participate and enjoy the fun of creative sports. Sports are a beautiful thing when done rightly, and they should be seen as a major bridge that can connect people to one another and enhance an overall “oneness” within humanity. We were created to enjoy God’s good creation and to enjoy mankind, and sports create a unique platform to unify these two ideals.

Because of the corruption of the “powers” and the natural tendency to contaminate things that were intended for good, there is a need to instill a new vision of reality that is seen through the sporting world, and this new vision should be “radically subversive,” as Gombis noted. This type of vision will not be normal, but it should set the believer in Christ a part and enable God’s character to be witnessed through sports.

The difficult thing about this is that for many believers in Jesus Christ, sports are isolated and not really considered a place where God can be displayed. Perhaps this is because sports bring out the worst in us, such as on the golf course when tempers flare and clubs are thrown. Or maybe this is because merging the gospel and sports is simply too confusing. It is not easy to know how this looks. Whatever the case, we should definitely recognize the dichotomy that is typically present between the gospel and sports, and the process of uniting these two realities together should be acutely explored.

Many believers grow satisfied thinking that the only ways to exalt God through participating in sports are by merely praying before games, not cussing, and resisting from yelling excessively at the officials, but such things are purely recognized because they come to mind quickly. The pertinent need is to broaden our horizons when it comes to the gospel and sports. How can our attitudes, desires, and competitive natures be holistically uplifted? Christian athletes may be quick to say that God should be glorified through their respective sport, but what does that really mean?

The remaining chapters plow into such issues and the relevancy of this issue cannot be overlooked. We must attack questions such as: What does a “cruciformed” life look like in how we participate in sports and how we watch sports? How does the beauty of the gospel dramatically reshape how we view the nature of sports? And, if this new identity in Christ is “radically subversive,” then what specific differences will a person who is in Christ have while engaging in sports compared to the one who is enslaved by the “powers over this present darkness?” May we enter this discussion with open hearts, desiring to embody the nature of Christ as fans and athletes.

[i] Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods, (New York: Dutton, 2009), p. xvii

[ii] Timothy Gombis, The Drama of Ephesians: Participating in the Triumph of God, (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2010), p. 182.

[iii] Gombis, p. 182.