Lessons for Living

“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”. – Matthew 5:44-45 (NIV)

This week those of us who have an interest in the sporting world have been inundated with media hype about the Super Bowl, the main sports event in the US calendar year. This year’s game will be played tomorrow, February 3rd in the Superdome in New Orleans between the  San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens.

It’s been observed by some members of the media that the Baltimore Ravens have a very strong core group of Bible-believing Christians who are very expressive about their personal faith in Jesus Christ. On the opposite side of the field on Sunday the San Francisco 49ers are not disadvantaged in this area. Their second-year starting quarterback sensation, Colin Kaepernick, dons many tattoos on his arms which quote Bible verses and express the identical faith in Jesus shared by many in the sporting world these days.

When the Ravens were victorious over the New England Patriots a couple of weekends ago, Ray Lewis, a team leader for the Ravens was quick to acknowledge God and the role He played in the Raven’s victory. In essence Lewis commented that God would not have brought the team this far and allowed them to lose this major contest. The same team lost to New England last year in the NFC championship.

When it comes to the Super Bowl on this major world stage which team will God support, if either?

Does God have any favorites in the sporting world?  Or a related question is what difference does one’s faith in God have on an athlete or on a team and is it an advantage or disadvantage in competition?

At times, I have found it very difficult in my own life to reconcile the desire “to win” in sports or any competitive endeavor with my Christian faith.  Perhaps we try to re-form God in our own image when it comes to sports and justify our own self-seeking agenda.

If we look solely at the person of Jesus Christ for direction, which would seem logical since many people and sports stars make a claim to follow Him, we might be surprised at the implications of what His life and ministry mean for our passion for winning in sports and life.

One of Jesus’ key teachings to His disciples was  “the first shall be last and the last first.” Stated differently,  God is building a Kingdom of Jesus-followers who will, or should, live by different standards, as empowered by God’s Spirit. Those we think are “on top” by the world’s standards, may in fact come in “last” in terms of God’s Kingdom. In effect, God’s Kingdom, espoused by Jesus is an “upside down” Kingdom compared to most of society’s norms.

We might be shocked to know what God really thinks of what we consider to be our greatest “victories” in life and the lengths we go to in acquiring them.

Jesus also directly taught His disciples to follow His example of humility and grace. They  were known to jockey for highest position among themselves, playing favorites and rivalry games.  Jesus corrective  to them was “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.”

In thinking about my own hunger and thirst for victory in life, I have to admit as a follower of Jesus Christ that I believe God is much more interested in developing my character than filling up a trophy cabinet of awards, not that the latter is inherently wrong.

I do admire many of the athletes these days who compete at a high level and acknowledge Jesus Christ as having helped them reach the goals they have set in their area of expertise. In my formative years in America Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys and Bart Starr of the Green Bay Packers were clear examples of this. In more recent times golfers Bernhard Langer, Zach Johnson, Webb Simpson, and American football stars Tim Tebow and Ray Lewis along with many others follow in their footsteps.

All of these individuals, and others like them, would be quick to point out, I think, that their victories did not mean that God was not passionately involved in the lives of their opponents as He was in their own.

In the end I believe God views our competitors differently than we do. We often demonize our opponents and treat them as enemies. Jesus taught His followers to love even their enemies. That surely applies to our competitors as well.

When the teams take the field on Sunday I believe that God will look down and see a level playing field. He’s intimately involved with all individuals on both sides of the field whether  they acknowledge Him or not. He’s also seeking to shape the life and character of any and all who will bow the knee and follow after Him.

After all, when all is said and done,  “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” –– win or lose.