"Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play…it is war minus the shooting."
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.
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 take clear 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: God is the creator of every single thing in his world.
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 kicked the ball and invented the game of football. 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.
Stuart