The struggle to find joy in sports

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. - Isaiah 40:29-31

How would a sports fan or athlete describe the joy that is experienced from participation in sports? Why does it seemingly have this magnificent hold on some of us that touches us to the deepest part of our soul? How would you explain the inexplicable hold that sports has on you to someone who has not experienced it or doesn't currently share it?

American philosopher and theologian Michael Novak, in his book titled The Joy of Sports describes the dilemma when he writes, "He who has not drunk deep of the virtues of football has missed one of the closest brushes with transcendence that humans are allowed."

He adds that participation in sports provides "a foretaste of the eschaton" or a glimpse at or awareness of Judgement Day.

Further, Novak notes, "when human beings actually accomplish victory in sports, it is for me as if the intentions of the Creator were suddenly limpid before our eyes; as though into the fiery heart of the Creator we had momentary insight."

Those are some pretty powerful statements and some powerful imagery. I'm not sure I would put it to my wife in quite these terms but Novak also describes those who don't appreciate sports as a "danger to civilization" and that he has never met a person who disliked sports who did not seem to be "deficient in humanity." On second thought, I probably have made similar comments in the past.

As a nation we are obsessed with our sports and games. We move from the college football bowl games to the Super Bowl, the Final Four, the World Series, the Masters, the World Cup, the Stanley Cup and on and on. However at times, it seems as if our obsession with glorifying teams and athletes can lead to less joy and appreciation for the games themselves. So how do we strike a balance?

The emphasis we place on the games themselves has been evolving since the Greeks organized the Olympic Games 3,500 years ago. The Greeks placed an emphasis on appreciation of athletic skill. The spirit of competition was emphasized--winning and losing were secondary considerations. Later, when the Romans became the preeminent world power, the emphasis changed to the entertainment of the spectators.

Today, we continue to struggle with the same tug of war on the emphasis of sports in our lives. Is there a middle ground that can be found between the cynical view of sports and the more optimistic outlook? Is sports simply a matter of adults engaging in childish games with little or no redeeming social value?

Again, historically we have seem to have settled on a middle ground between two fundamentally divergent philosophies about the role of sports in our lives.

The author Arthur Holmes wrote in Contours of a World View that "play is all-pervasive. It does not lie just on the fringes of life, as if games were spare parts we don't really need in the main business of the day."

Some argue that through play we learn more about ourselves and others, develop life skills such as self-discipline and develop a communal sense with other participants from different backgrounds.

Holmes illustrates the other side of the coin by contrasting it with Nietzsche's view that reduces all life and thought to masks in a play "taking nothing seriously except the will to power--in effect the will to win--that all of life is a biologically driven power play." Holmes links Nietsche's "will to power" with the "will to win at all costs" that we see infecting the current climate in sports today.

This leads to many of the negative values pervading the sports climate. Obsessing over sports leads to a breakdown of enjoyment of the sport or activity (burnout) as an athlete or a sports fan. Obsessing over the exploits of the icon du jour or even our own personal training or goals becomes a form of false idolatry when this morphs into a chase for confirmation of self worth. This is a valuation of self that is at best fleeting.

So where is the hope? The middle ground where the joy of sports can be achieved on a lasting basis? To me it is personified in the Isaiah verse 40:29-31 I highlighted above. It is really the link between our mortal quest for human perfection and our more spiritual quest for same. Our search for our inner athlete. It's a daily struggle we all face--we all fail at times--but we find the strength to get back up and struggle again, each time soaring higher and higher...on wings like eagles. What an inherently joyous, optimistic and triumphant outlook is embodied in this verse.

In the movie Chariots of Fire , based on the story of a true sports/life hero Eric Liddell, the protagonist struggles with fulfilling his mission work in China with the achievement of his athletic goals. He reconciled his struggle between the optimistic and cynical view of sports participation with the following line:

"I believe that God made me for a purpose - for China. But He also made me fast and when I run, I feel His pleasure.To give it up would be to hold him in contempt...To win is to honor Him"

Liddell later distinguished himself heroically with his mission work in China. (details below)

It is on these pillars that a strong base can be built for healthy participation in sports and a fulfilling, spiritually-based life.

Play should be an attitude that can transfer into other areas of your life. Much as you do during play or participation in sports--have fun and be a joyous participant in life. Make your work into a joyous, playful, competitive playground.

JOY - then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. - Philippians 2:2

-------
Eric Liddell's post sports impact (from Wikipedia):

During the summer of 1924, the Olympics were hosted by the city of Paris. Liddell was a committed Christian and refused to run on Sunday (the Christian Sabbath), with the consequence that he was forced to withdraw from the 100 metres race, his best event.

Liddell spent the intervening months training for the 400 metres, an event in which he had previously excelled. Even so, his success in the 400m was largely unexpected.

The day of 400 metres race came, and as Liddell went to the starting blocks, an American masseur slipped a piece of paper into Liddell's hand with a quotation from 1 Samuel 2:30, "Those who honour me I will honour." Liddell ran with that piece of paper in his hand. He not only won the race, but broke the existing world record with a time of 47.6 seconds.

In 1943, Liddell was interned at the Weihsien (now known as Weifang) Internment Camp with the members of the China Inland Mission Chefoo (now known as Yantai) School. Liddell became a leader at the camp and helped get it organized.

Food, medicines, and other supplies ran short at the camp. There were many cliques in the camp and when some rich businessmen managed to smuggle in some eggs to the camp, Liddell shamed them into sharing them with the rest of the camp.

Fellow missionaries were forming cliques, moralising, and acting selfishly. Eric kept himself busy by helping the elderly, teaching at the camp school Bible classes, arranging games and also by teaching the children science.

It was recently revealed by the Chinese authorities that Liddell had given up an opportunity to leave the camp and instead gave his place to a pregnant woman.

Apparently, the Japanese did a deal with the British, with Churchill's approval, for prisoner exchange. Therefore, because Eric was a famous athlete he was one of the chosen as part of the prisoner exchange. However, he gave his place to another.

This information was released near the time of the Beijing Olympics by the Chinese government and apparently news of this great act of sacrifice came as a surprise even to his family members.

Fifty-six years after the 1924 Paris Olympics, Scotsman Allan Wells won the 100 metre sprint at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. When asked after the victory if he had run the race for Harold Abrahams, the last 100 metre Olympic winner from Britain (in 1924), Wells replied, "No, this one was for Eric Liddell."

Eric Liddell was voted in The Scotsman newspaper in an 8 August 2008 poll as the most popular athlete Scotland has ever produced

In 1991, a memorial headstone, made from Isle of Mull granite was unveiled at the former camp site in Weifang, erected by Edinburgh University. A few simple words taken from the Book of Isaiah 40:31, formed the inscription: "They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary." The city of Weifang, as part of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the internment camp, commemorated the life of Liddell by laying a wreath at the memorial headstone marking his grave in 2005.

AWESOME STORY!!