by BJ Rudge, Ph.D.
Artwork by Louise Wieneke
The following was e-mailed to BJ from a college student whom BJ formerly coached.
Hi BJ,
I am taking a class which is taking a deeper look at competition and Christianity. Knowing all you’ve been through with athletics and where you stand in your faith, I was wondering about your perspective. Do you feel that the Christian faith, shared by a Christian competitor, is more accepted in winning or by graciously losing? If neither of those, then when can a Christian really shine their light through competition? And do you believe God has control in sporting events? Does He really care who wins or who loses? Does praying make a difference in the outcome of a game? Don’t feel pressured to answer all of these because our entire class and professor who has taught this for many years can’t point out a ‘right or wrong’ answer or conclusion. I appreciate any time you have to devote to this!
Angie
Answer
Angie,
You know I enjoy sports. I have played or coached soccer virtually my entire life. I know how it can be abused and how it can be used for God’s glory. In regard to the first question, I do believe that when a Christian competitor wins, he or she is provided with a greater platform by which to share his or her faith. Since we have won the region title, it has definitely opened up unique doors for me to be more vocal about my faith.
On a professional level, one person who comes to my mind is Tony Dungy, the former head football coach for the Indianapolis Colts. Prior to coaching with the Colts, he was the head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While he was a coach with Tampa Bay, he did not always have success. In fact, after being with the team for several years, he was eventually fired because he could not win in the playoffs. After being fired, he then became the coach for the Indianapolis Colts and won a Super Bowl.
Even though he was well-respected and noted for his Christian faith, it was not until he won the Super Bowl that he was put in the spotlight and had a huge audience who was willing to hear him share about his faith in Jesus Christ. We live in a culture that most definitely idealizes winners. As a result, when a Christian has success in sports, it does provide him/her with an opportunity to use this success as a witnessing tool. However, even though winning provides opportunities for Christians to share their faith and make people more receptive to hear it, I believe Christians can be more effective when their character shines through challenges and trials (which does include losing). Let me explain this by referencing Jesus’ parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-23). As you are well aware, in this parable a farmer goes out to sow some seed and the seed falls on different types of soil. Some seed fell on the path and the birds ate it. Other seed fell on rocky soil and after growing died because it had no root. Other seed fell among thorns and also grew quickly but was choked away by the thorns. And finally, some seed fell on good soil and produced a large crop.
The various types of soil represent different responses people have to the Gospel. In my experience, when I win I have more of an audience, but what I say often ends up like the seed that fell among the path, rocks and thorns. I rarely see long-term growth. People love winners, but as soon as you lose they go off looking for someone else to idealize.
In contrast, I have found that when I lose with character and my faith is demonstrated through trials and difficulties, I may not have as large an audience to share my faith with, but my testimony for Him ends up having a greater impact upon those He brings across my path. For example, a player gave me a very nice card telling how my faith really impacted her and motivated her to grow in her own faith. In the letter, she never once mentioned she was impressed with the fact that I was a successful coach/player and that I had guided the team to a region championship. Instead, she talked about my character, and how even when we lost I always tried to honor the Lord. It is when our faith is tested in the trials of life that we begin to see God use us to plant seeds in good soil.
So, in regard to the first question, I guess the answer is yes to both. God can and does open up doors for us to share our faith whether we win or lose. How God uses us is ultimately tied with what brings Him greater glory. For some people God can manifest His glory in a greater way through winning, while in other people God can do this through facing challenges like losing.
Does God control sporting events?
I do believe God works and can intervene in sporting events as He does in other aspects of life. However, I am not sure if I would go so far as to say that God directly determines the outcome of a match. He certainly could, but I would say that this would be the exception rather than the norm. Really, the heart of the issue is how we view God’s interaction with His creation. In regard to this issue, I believe there are two extreme views of God that people have. One is to say God does not intervene at all in human affairs. God more or less just sits up in heaven and lets us figure out things for ourselves. This is obviously not a biblical view, as we do know God intervenes in our lives. The classic example is the incarnation, when God came to earth. The other extreme is to see God controlling every aspect of life. Thus, we are nothing more than puppets who are being pulled by God who is the puppeteer. This view is also not biblical. God created us with the freedom to make choices, and these choices have consequences.
In my estimation, the biblical balance is that God does intervene in our lives, but He primarily does it by working in and through the choices we make. How does this relate to sporting events? The simple answer is that God can directly determine the outcome of a game. Since He is sovereign He can do anything that is consistent with His nature. Thus, if a particular outcome would bring greater glory to His name, then God could and perhaps would determine the outcome. However, I believe that most sporting events are determined by the choices of those who are involved in the event (players, referees, coaches, etc.). Think about when we won the region title. Do you think we would have won if we just sat at home and showed up for the games? No! We won because we trained hard, minimized our mistakes, and took advantage of the mistakes our opponents made.
But this does not mean God had no role in our season. I am sure you can agree that God gave us favor during the season. He honored us for our hard work and dedication. Did He directly control events in games to help us win? I truly cannot answer this as there were times in games when things happened (weather, ball bouncing our way, a call by the referee) that appeared to only be able to be attributed to God. However, none of us will ever really know how many of those things were simply part of the game, or the direct hand of God. Just like Job was unable to understand all the pain he was going through, sometimes things happen in life that we simply have no answers for.
Does prayer make a difference in the outcome of the game? Do you think we would have won a region title if all we did was pray and never train? I am sure you would agree that we would have not won. Once again, we go back to the fact that sporting events are normally determined by the choices made by those involved in the game. However, this does not mean prayer has no benefit in sports. Before every game I always pray for wisdom and guidance and that as a coach I will honor the Lord in how I conduct myself. I never pray to win. Now, if I do believe that God answers prayer then once again I should expect that God will provide me with wisdom and favor. How this would have impacted the results of the games I coached, I simply do not know.
As Christians our ultimate goal in sports is not to win, but to honor God with our talents and the opportunities He puts before us. I was reminded of this your junior year. If you recall that season, we were losing so many close games in overtime. In the middle of the season, I received an e-mail from your mom that had the following verse at the top, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. We do it to get a crown that will last forever” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).
Your mom then wrote the following, “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these past couple of weeks as we’ve had so many games that have been so close. Why aren’t we scoring those goals; why aren’t we winning? The verse above seems to say only that we’re supposed to ‘run with perseverance’ and ‘in such a way as to get the prize.’ We’re running for the ‘crown that will last forever’ and we’ve never been promised to win all the races (soccer games) along the way. As humans, we’d all like to win all the time, but sometimes the lesson we’re supposed to learn comes from ‘trying really hard.’”
Angie, God uses the circumstances of our lives, which includes sports, to be opportunities to honor Him and share our faith. As we do this remember the words of the apostle Paul, “For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances [winning or losing]. I know what it is to be in need [losing], and I know what it is to have plenty [winning]. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13).
BJ
