Spiritual Suicide

Being a top level athlete in one sense is one of the hardest places to be a Christian. Here’s why... it seems everywhere in N. America we breath the air of self. Everything around us seems to cater to our own individualism and promoting our independence. Satisfying our every desire with stuff is the accepted way of living. For the athlete who’s recognized for their sporting prowess it all gets bumped up a notch. It’s so easy for an aspiring athlete to get a sort of tunnel vision with the only thing in sight the goal to be better, faster, stronger, etc. you embark on a quest to do everything in your life to achieve personal success. This quest can be intensely self focussed. You can easily lose the ability to think about anything other than yourself and your own improvement.

Add to this the reinforcement elite athletes receive from people around them. I still remember a pro football chaplain telling me he’s seen it time and time again where he’ll bring in an older, seasoned pastor to deliver the pre-game chapel message in the locker room, and the minute they enter that supposed hallowed ground they become a 12 year old fan again. Acting in ways that quickly end any influence and credibility they might have had. At a recent Olympics where I was a chaplain we had a situation.... each night we had a Bible discussion meeting for the athletes. A couple of the inexperienced chaplains wanted to open it up to all the volunteers in the athlete village. Now, our roles as chaplains did include ministering to volunteers and even families of athletes, etc., but this ½ hour nightly meeting was the one place these athletes could come and be with their peers without fans, hangers on and others wanting to be around them paying them special attention. The athletes weren’t elitists in their attitudes, it’s just that as Christians they didn’t need that temptation to feel more important or more special than others around them. But so often, for the elite athlete that’s how people treat them and then one can easily fall into the trap of believing that you’re just a little better and more exceptional than others.

Christian athletes...make sure you’re "soaked in scripture". Everyday get into the Bible read things like Is. 43.7 "everyone who is called by My name, & whom I have created for My glory..." Or Ps. 115.1 "Not to us O Lord, but to Your name be glory". Read and realize how absolutely dependant we are on God. Every breath you take (& long distance athletes take a LOT of them!) is a gift from God. Make sure you’re grateful for every unique gift you’ve been given and allow your heart to respond in love. This will change everything about your training and competition. It’s not even thinking about yourself and how "awesome" you’re going to do and be. It’s all about that Creator you love so much. It’s all about making HIM look good, not yourself.

Granted, this isn’t easy. Everything around you will be going in the other self seeking direction, but with Holy Spirit empowerment, right Bible thinking and true heart engagement (loving Jesus) you’ll be training and competing on a whole different plane.