Should Christians be competitive? | Podcast

[@codymcarthur]

Praise God. This video helped me so very much. I have been struggling and wrestling as a professional horse trainer with these ideas for years. Thanks. I’m a new subscriber.

[@christians_in_sport]

Hi Cody - super to hear from you and so glad you found this helpful!

[@solomonKachi7000]

u sure u dont have ocd?

[@codymcarthur]

@@solomonKachi7000 not sure the context of your comment. Maybe.

[@GodsStudent]

I’m a little bit lost, is it a sin for me to become a professional athlete

[@christians_in_sport]

Thanks for your comment, there is nothing inherently sinful about a career in professional sport, we believe it is a completely legitimate profession. However, like any profession, professional sport comes with specific challenges (this could be long periods away from home and church family/pressure to see you worth or value in performance/financial vulnerability etc) as well as joys (the opportunity to enjoy maximizing the sporting gift God has given you/the close relationships you may have with teammates, coaches and staff to share life and the gospel with etc). It's great to spend time reflecting on this and deciding for yourself, with support from close Christian friends, and leaders in your local church, if professional sport is where God is calling you to live and speak for him.

[@GodsStudent]

@@christians_in_sport Thanks, my pastor even supports this but of course we have Christians in our community on KZbin who classify everything other than the Bible and God as sin so I get thrown off by that but thanks for the clarity

[@christians_in_sport]

no problem!

[@TheCollywill]

Hi guys again, how about proverbs 24 17 where it talks about not rejoicing when your enemy falls, is it a sin to be happy if say if in the premier league a title or relegation rival loses in a big game which benefits my team and I’m happy?

[@tilly_fj8148]

@Ray Junior really helpful

[@Yalah17]

@Ray Junior Yes!! Thank you. Exactly.

[@cranberrysweets5424]

@@tilly_fj8148what did they say ?

[@aceventura3935]

Challenging iron sharpens iron

[@TheCollywill]

Hi guys quick question, the euros starts this weeks and I was wondering how in Ephesians 4:31 the bible condemns clamour , does that mean celebration when England (or whatever country you support) score , does that mean it is a sin to raise your voice in celebration, it would be helpful if you could reply, thank you.

[@christians_in_sport]

Hi William. Good question! The original greek seems to indicate that what we translate as clamour is an angry shout or scream. So in regards to your question - cheering on with joy wouldn't be something this verse condemns! Hope that helps.

[@fernandogallardo3458]

In sports theirs going to be hate, outbursts of wrath, pride, boasting, railings, exaltation, idolatry, covetous, strife, envy, malice, the love of money, murder, etc.. God is not involved in sports, because of sin.

[@christians_in_sport]

Thanks for your comment Fernando. You're correct, as in any area of life, sin is going to infect it. Praise God for the way now, by his spirit, he redeems all good things in his creation, to be things we can do and enjoy for his glory, despite our sin. Romans 12 helpfully show us how all our lives can be lived in worship now, including our sport.

[@P47ThunderboltJug]

@HARD TALK RADIO I could be out of place here, but doesn't it seem like he wasn't much of a softie when he went into the jewish temple to cast out all the merchants selling things there? I think there probably is a lot of sin in sport, but maybe it's a good thing that's been corrupted just like everything else.

[@iamzay4938]

Competitiveness is unavoidable in this world wether your applying for job, school, sports, etc... The Bible saids whatever you do, do it with your whole heart unto The Lord. You can compete, but do it God’s way. He calls us to be bold not timid.

[@kallico2634]

That’s true for all aspects of life, just because some people may fail to represent Christ in their sport/life doesn’t that other can’t compete and glorify God throw what we they do just a thought

[@bailujen8052]

There is an example of someone who's hateful, proud, arrogant in eSports, and he is known as Leffen who tries to manipulate the rulesets of a game he plays so others are at a disadvantage (Good thing none of them took it seriously), before that conspired with a woman into falsely accusing pro players such as Gonzalo (ZeRo) Barrios of pedophelia. Gonzalo attempted suicide yet failed, he sued the woman who was mainly responsible for defamation and he won, yet Leffen gets scott free

[@JoseRodriguez-rw9bx]

I am sorry. I have to disagree with his effort to frame competition as something good for morale, then good for Christian character. And he doesn’t need to the refer to the latin word of competition, like trying to give validity to his message. But I wouldn’t want to get this wrong, and I don’t think young Christians wouldn’t want to either. I feel that no competition is ever good, because it brings out the ego in you, and you can still compete against your self, and it would still be bad for you. I frame Jesus in my spirit in a background where he was not competing but rather following God’s command. I don’t think he ever had to compete against others or against himself. I want to be like Christ, not like men. Who do you want to be like?

[@christians_in_sport]

Thank you for your comment Jose. Of course there is potential for competition to bring out negative traits, such as inflated ego as you have said, but it is a very narrow view to say that this is all competition can do. If this is the line we draw then where do we stand with anything else that has potential to bring out the ego? In our work, family lives and churches there are numerous opportunities to inflate ourselves and not Christ, must we withdraw from all of these to decrease the risk of competing with others to inflate ego? Of course not - the fundamental problem is not competition, but sin. Moreover, Paul references competitive sport multiple times throughout his epistles, and always in such away to encourage the Christian to learn from the example of competitive sportspeople (e.g. 1 Corinthians 9:24 as one of many examples). It's important to see therefore that plenty of positive Christian character traits (love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, patience, perseverance, meekness, humility, self-control, compassion, thankfulness, forgiveness, contentment, and unity) can all be cultivated in the context of competitive sport. Whilst of course sport is not, and never will be, perfect. Like all of life it's tainted with sin, so we must pray that God would use this context to strengthen our faith, and share the good news with others in this world who yet to be saved.