Embracing God's Gift: The Value of Sports and Competition in Our Lives

 
Delighting in God’s Good Gift
of Sport and Competition
 
Michael Goheen
Vancouver, B.C.
 
 
 
My Personal Story
 
Serving the god of sport
World negating gospel and a
degraded view of sport
 
   
 
Among the various things we can relax
with, athletics are low on the scale of
demonstrable significance (Christianity
Today).
 
My Personal Story
 
Serving the god of sport
World negating gospel and a
degraded view of sport
Joy of discovery
A gospel of the kingdom
Jesus the Christ as creator and reconciler
of all things
New understanding of creation
 
   
For God so loved the world He gave His
one and only Son . . . (John 3:16).
   For everything God created is good, and
nothing is to be rejected if it is received
with thanksgiving . . . (I Timothy 4:4).
  
 
We serve Christ by thankfully receiving
our life as a gift from his hand (CT, par.
46).
 
Experience of a Father
 
Delights to give good gifts
Delights in our response
Enjoyment
Thankfulness
Love
 
Sport and Competition
 
God’s gift
A phys. ed. teacher’s question
“What is it about sports and
competition that delights you?”
 
‘God made me fast.  When I run I feel his
pleasure. . . . it’s not just fun.  To win is to
honour him’ (Eric Liddell).
 
Sports and Competition Rooted in Creation
 
How He created us as human
beings
Calling He gave to enrich our lives
 
Rooted in who we are . . .
 
As social creatures
As imaginative creatures
 
    
Sports part of ‘our artistic and imaginative
impulse’ (Giammatti) or ‘aesthetic potential’
(Holmes).
 
   
 
Sports ‘feed a deep hunger’ (Novak)
 
Rooted in the task God has given us
 
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15
Formative power to explore, discover,
develop potential of creation in diverse
ways
“. . . underlying all human cultural
activity is a substrate of created reality
which both makes possible that activity
and sets normative standards for it.” (A.
Wolters)
Sports: one cultural product
 
God’s Good Gift of Competition
 
Sports a good gift—but
competition?
‘Morally wrong because it pits
one . . . against another in
rivalry . . .’
‘Basic ingredient’ of sports
 
God’s Good Gift of Competition
 
‘Successfully overcoming
unnecessary obstacles’ necessary
for enjoyment of game
 
Obstacles provide hindrances which prevent
the player from using the most efficient way
of accomplishing the goal.  The joy in the
game is in creating tactics to overcome the
obstacles and accomplish the goal’ (Frey et.
al.).
 
Competition is . . .
 
Based on co-operation not rivalry
Latin root—competere: to strive
together, to meet or come
together, agree.
Co-operative agreement on goals,
rules, and obstacles of game
Co-operative agreement to contest
one another for mutual enjoyment
 
Competition can . . .
 
Enhance joy and emotional
intensity of athletic experience
Sharpen skills
Refine the whole aesthetic
experience
Improve the social experience
 
An opponent is . . .
 
Not first of all a rival
Loving neighbour who provides
opportunity for more delightful
experience of sport by providing
stiff competition
 
‘. . . competition can bring out co-operation,
celebration, respect, and even love’
(Zuidema).
 
Destructive Potential of Competition
 
Very powerful impulse
Twisted by sin
Need to discern healthy
competition
Opponent neighbour in image of
God
Treated with love, dignity,
respect, and appreciation
 
Quotes in Sydney Olympic Tower
 
   
‘I don’t care who I’m playing.  I want to win
more than they do.’
 
   ‘Intimidation is the key.  You can have the
other beaten before they hit the water.’
   ‘Winning isn’t everything; it is the only
thing.’
   ‘To play this game you must have fire in you,
and there is nothing that stokes fire like
hate.’
 
Two Conditions if Athletics is to be Good
 
One part of the symphony of
creation
 
One ‘Sound’ in the Symphony of Creation
 
Sports and competition have their
own ‘sound’
One valid (good) God-given activity
alongside of others
 
One Sound in the Symphony
 
Attempts to justify sports by a
more noble utilitarian purpose
Sports needs no justification
Does not need to be justified
because it:
Brings physical fitness
Provides refreshment for work
Builds character and self-discipline
etc.
 
‘Essentially sport has no purpose at all: it is an end in
itself . . . its possible uses are incidental like art, religion,
and friendship.’
 
Two Dangers
 
When ‘sound’ of play and leisure is
too weak
Sacred/secular dualism
Body/soul dualism
 
 
‘. . . games are of the body, and thus of a
lower order than things of the spirit’
(Wilson).
 
Two Dangers
 
When ‘sound’ of play and leisure
is too weak
 When ‘sound’ of play and leisure
is too loud
 
Hedonism: ‘Sports is the fastest
growing religion in America’
 ‘Pursuing pleasure we lose the gift
of joy’ (CT)
 
Two Conditions if Athletics is to be Good
 
One part of the symphony of
creation
Conforming to God’s design
 
Conforming to God’s Creational Design
 
Need to understand creational design
of sport
Wisdom: Divine and human
 
“. . . wisdom . . . was wrought into the
constitution of the universe” and human wisdom
is “ethical conformity to God’s creation.” (J.
Fleming)
 
 
“. . . underlying all human cultural activity is a
substrate of created reality which both makes
possible that activity and sets normative
standards for it.” (A. Wolters)
 
 
Need to understand sin’s corruption
Need to seek healing paths for
healthy sport
 
Three lenses for true image
 
Creation                 Sin                 Restoration
 
Conforming to God’s Creational Design
 
Need to understand creational
design
Need to understand sin’s
corruption
Need to seek healing paths for
healthy sport
Need to understand battle for
leisure and sport
 
Clash of Kingdoms
 
Antithesis
 
Battle for Leisure and Sport
 
 
‘There is no neutral ground in
the universe every square inch,
every split second, is claimed
by God and counterclaimed by
Satan’ (C.S. Lewis).
 
What is that delights you about competition?
 
Emotional intensity
‘Thrill of victory, agony of defeat’
Way out of proportion with
importance
Absorbed intensely and utterly in
serious pursuit of non-serious activity
(Huizinga, Frey)
Joy, emotional vibrancy spills into life
 
  
 
‘Play relativises our over-seriousness toward life,
filling us with a spirit of joy and delight that carries
over into all aspects of our existence.’
 
My Delight in God’s Good Gift of Competition
 
Emotional intensity
Physical satisfaction
 
   ‘Athletes know the beauty of intensity of
effort, the motivation of pursuit of goals,
the feeling and being of fitness, the
expressiveness of movement, the creativity
of play, the excitement of total
involvement and the joy of sport’
(Zuidema).
 
My Delight in God’s Good Gift of Competition
 
Emotional intensity
Physical satisfaction
Social bonding
Aesthetic enjoyment
‘Creativity of play’
That perfect play
 
My Delight in God’s Good Gift of Competition
 
Emotional intensity
Physical satisfaction
Social bonding
Aesthetic enjoyment
Religious deepening
 
Sport and Competition Matter
 
‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus . . .’
‘Nothing matters but the kingdom . . .
. . . but because of the kingdom
everything matters’
Treasures of sound, healthy sports
 
‘The treasures of the nations will go
into the new Jerusalem.  Among those
treasures . . . is good, sound, healthy
leisure’ (Spykman).
Being a preview of sound, healthy
sports
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Delve into the significance of sports and competition as a divine gift through reflections on personal stories, biblical wisdom, and the rootedness of these activities in human nature and creation. Explore how the joy, beauty, and formative power of sports connect us to God's creation and our calling to honor Him through athleticism.


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  1. Delighting in Gods Good Gift of Sport and Competition Michael Goheen Vancouver, B.C.

  2. My Personal Story Serving the god of sport World negating gospel and a degraded view of sport Among the various things we can relax with, athletics are low on the scale of demonstrable significance (Christianity Today).

  3. My Personal Story Serving the god of sport World negating gospel and a degraded view of sport Joy of discovery A gospel of the kingdom Jesus the Christ as creator and reconciler of all things New understanding of creation

  4. For God so loved the world He gave His one and only Son . . . (John 3:16). For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving . . . (I Timothy 4:4). We serve Christ by thankfully receiving our life as a gift from his hand (CT, par. 46).

  5. Experience of a Father Delights to give good gifts Delights in our response Enjoyment Thankfulness Love

  6. Sport and Competition God s gift A phys. ed. teacher s question What is it about sports and competition that delights you? God made me fast. When I run I feel his pleasure. . . . it s not just fun. To win is to honour him (Eric Liddell).

  7. Sports and Competition Rooted in Creation How He created us as human beings Calling He gave to enrich our lives

  8. Rooted in who we are . . . As social creatures As imaginative creatures Sports part of our artistic and imaginative impulse (Giammatti) or aesthetic potential (Holmes). Sports feed a deep hunger (Novak)

  9. Rooted in the task God has given us Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15 Formative power to explore, discover, develop potential of creation in diverse ways . . . underlying all human cultural activity is a substrate of created reality which both makes possible that activity and sets normative standards for it. (A. Wolters) Sports: one cultural product

  10. Gods Good Gift of Competition Sports a good gift but competition? Morally wrong because it pits one . . . against another in rivalry . . . Basic ingredient of sports

  11. Gods Good Gift of Competition Successfully overcoming unnecessary obstacles necessary for enjoyment of game Obstacles provide hindrances which prevent the player from using the most efficient way of accomplishing the goal. The joy in the game is in creating tactics to overcome the obstacles and accomplish the goal (Frey et. al.).

  12. Competition is . . . Based on co-operation not rivalry Latin root competere: to strive together, to meet or come together, agree. Co-operative agreement on goals, rules, and obstacles of game Co-operative agreement to contest one another for mutual enjoyment

  13. Competition can . . . Enhance joy and emotional intensity of athletic experience Sharpen skills Refine the whole aesthetic experience Improve the social experience

  14. An opponent is . . . Not first of all a rival Loving neighbour who provides opportunity for more delightful experience of sport by providing stiff competition . . . competition can bring out co-operation, celebration, respect, and even love (Zuidema).

  15. Destructive Potential of Competition Very powerful impulse Twisted by sin Need to discern healthy competition Opponent neighbour in image of God Treated with love, dignity, respect, and appreciation

  16. Quotes in Sydney Olympic Tower I don t care who I m playing. I want to win more than they do. Intimidation is the key. You can have the other beaten before they hit the water. Winning isn t everything; it is the only thing. To play this game you must have fire in you, and there is nothing that stokes fire like hate.

  17. Two Conditions if Athletics is to be Good One part of the symphony of creation

  18. One Sound in the Symphony of Creation Sports and competition have their own sound One valid (good) God-given activity alongside of others

  19. One Sound in the Symphony Attempts to justify sports by a more noble utilitarian purpose Sports needs no justification Does not need to be justified because it: Brings physical fitness Provides refreshment for work Builds character and self-discipline etc. Essentially sport has no purpose at all: it is an end in itself . . . its possible uses are incidental like art, religion, and friendship.

  20. Two Dangers When sound of play and leisure is too weak Sacred/secular dualism Body/soul dualism . . . games are of the body, and thus of a lower order than things of the spirit (Wilson).

  21. Two Dangers When sound of play and leisure is too weak When sound of play and leisure is too loud Hedonism: Sports is the fastest growing religion in America Pursuing pleasure we lose the gift of joy (CT)

  22. Two Conditions if Athletics is to be Good One part of the symphony of creation Conforming to God s design

  23. Conforming to Gods Creational Design Need to understand creational design of sport Wisdom: Divine and human . . . wisdom . . . was wrought into the constitution of the universe and human wisdom is ethical conformity to God s creation. (J. Fleming) . . . underlying all human cultural activity is a substrate of created reality which both makes possible that activity and sets normative standards for it. (A. Wolters) Need to understand sin s corruption Need to seek healing paths for healthy sport

  24. Three lenses for true image Creation Sin Restoration

  25. Conforming to Gods Creational Design Need to understand creational design Need to understand sin s corruption Need to seek healing paths for healthy sport Need to understand battle for leisure and sport

  26. Clash of Kingdoms Antithesis

  27. Battle for Leisure and Sport There is no neutral ground in the universe every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan (C.S. Lewis).

  28. What is that delights you about competition? Emotional intensity Thrill of victory, agony of defeat Way out of proportion with importance Absorbed intensely and utterly in serious pursuit of non-serious activity (Huizinga, Frey) Joy, emotional vibrancy spills into life Play relativises our over-seriousness toward life, filling us with a spirit of joy and delight that carries over into all aspects of our existence.

  29. My Delight in Gods Good Gift of Competition Emotional intensity Physical satisfaction Athletes know the beauty of intensity of effort, the motivation of pursuit of goals, the feeling and being of fitness, the expressiveness of movement, the creativity of play, the excitement of total involvement and the joy of sport (Zuidema).

  30. My Delight in Gods Good Gift of Competition Emotional intensity Physical satisfaction Social bonding Aesthetic enjoyment Creativity of play That perfect play

  31. My Delight in Gods Good Gift of Competition Emotional intensity Physical satisfaction Social bonding Aesthetic enjoyment Religious deepening

  32. Sport and Competition Matter Turn your eyes upon Jesus . . . Nothing matters but the kingdom . . . . . . but because of the kingdom everything matters Treasures of sound, healthy sports The treasures of the nations will go into the new Jerusalem. Among those treasures . . . is good, sound, healthy leisure (Spykman). Being a preview of sound, healthy sports

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