“All I know most surely about morality and obligation I owe to football”,
Psalm 38
Where is God in all this?My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. Psalm 38:5
The Psalmist is struggling and wonders if God is punishing him for his sin. Reading this verse made me think of a common thought among athletes: “I am running badly because God is punishing me”. We live in a fallen world. Illness happens. Accidents happen. Athletes are constantly pushing their bodies to the limit. Injuries happen. Getting sick or injured is not our fault but neither do we deserve God’s favour.
I am very uncomfortable with the “God made me win” theology because it implies that God made someone else lose. We read of Old Testament battles where God fought for his people against their enemies. However, we are on dangerous ground if we try to interpret the result of the Olympic 100 metres final in terms of Old Testament battles.
I liked the perspective of John Harris*: “We must approach God with humility. We must avoid being lured into the belief that when bad or good things happen to us, God is punishing or rewarding us for something”.
I have watched many Diamond League races where three or more Christians face off. Victory will be determined by a combination of talent, technique, training, ability to produce one’s best on the day and sometimes an element of luck. The idea that the one who wins is the holiest and the one who is last the most sinful is just plain wrong!
When I pray for an athlete before a race – or for several athletes in the same race – I pray that they would prepare well, execute their race plan and be able to accept the outcome. In Jeremiah 29:11 we read “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This promise assures us that God loves us and has our best interests at heart but does not tells who will win the Olympic final.
*John Harris, Encounter with God, 3 February 2019