Last night I had a terrible night. The Detroit Red Wings were one game away from elimination from the Stanley Cup Final and they were down by only one goal. They had 4 minutes to put in a goal with a two minute powerplay in the midst of that. They put forth one of the most valient efforts I had ever seen but it wasn't enough and they ended up loosing 4-3. So, after almost 7 years of not being able to get past round one of the playoffs, Detroit got as far as the conference finals. Nothing to be ashamed of by any means but better luck next year.
Needless to say that I was very upset last night and, mom and dad you will be mad, I threw myself a fit. But as I got upset and Jessie(my girlfriend) tried her best to calm me down, I started to think about why I should calm down. Of course, my parents taught me to control my temper, but I was a long way away from breaking anything or hurting anyone in my anger. But there is something good about getting upset about things like that, or a better way to say it is that there is something healthy about good competition, even for Christians.
The Greeks of the first century and before are the creators of the athletic trials and sports. The early Christian writers, trying to find a way to get there ideas about Christian living to others, used this metaphor of being an athlete. The Apostle Paul uses this method a few times but the writer most attributed for this in the New Testament is the author of Hebrews. In chapter 12 he really gets into this metaphor exhorting his audience to perseverance in the midst of many trials just like an athlete must endure many trials in order to gain victory. The thing that strikes me is that an athletic trial consists of competition so why is it wrong to look at competition as a sin for Christians? There are many who believe that it is wrong for Christians to be competitive and to get worked up in things like athletic events. But isn't this "competition" what we are called to? We are exhorted as well by the Hebrews' author to "run with perseverance the race that is set before us," so shouldn't we have something that keeps us going in that race? What do modern day athletes sometimes use as a boost of energy or confidence? It is the competitive nature that tells them that they are the best.
Now, don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that Christians should have a competitive nature to the extent that we look at ourselves as being better than another Christian. I do believe however, that a competitive spirit can unlock some endurance when we face trials of many kinds. We should not compete for who will end up with more praise from Jesus in the end or for who knows the most and can preach the best or teach the best. But when we are running the race marked for us following Jesus the archegos and perfector of faith, we need to be in competition with ourselves to push us to the limits to follow the Nazarene. After all, what greater competition could there ever be?
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2 comments:
I feel you about the Wings, this is a tough month for us athletics wise...first the Suns get jipped out of a spot in the conference finals, then the Wings lose after taking the lead in the series 2-1.
Be wary of using the Hebrews writer's athletic imagery too confidently. Remember that that imagery has a purpose. It is to convince or persuade the readers of something. Granted, the image of a "journey" that the writer uses in the first few chapters is legitimate for Christians and extremely accurate, there are other images other than those in the Bible.
We must also be wary of the outcomes of the competetive mindset. Being involved in competition for the sake of winning usually winds up leading to something bad. Doing it for some other purpose is different.
I agree. The athletic motif is not the only example used in the text. I just think that if you take the competitiveness out of the athletic metaphor, you loose some of the author's meaning.
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