Digging Deep at the Intersection of Faith and competition.
Why are billions of people so enamored by sport, by competition? Why is it that a billion people watch 22 people run around a manicured grass field with white painted lines to try and put a ball in a net (World Cup). Why don’t billions of people tune into the best farmer mowing his field for grain supplying the world’s food stores or a surgeon performing lifesaving procedures—those surely are more vital events (Harvey 2014). So if what is important is directly related to what we do (or as Dallas Willard (1997) notes, we act according to our deep seated core beliefs, …we can do no other), wouldn’t sport-interest correlation suggest sport or competition is more vital to our survival? Most people I would think would agree with me that this is not the case. Then why the passionate connection? And more pointedly, why are so many people of faith drawn to sports, excel in competition, knows as hard workers, coachable, and are looked to as roll models in sport? How do grit, hardiness, fearless competition, social cohesion for teams, etc. come into play? What is the true nature of competition? Would you rather play ugly and win or play great and lose? What is at the heart of our competitive juices that just about anything can be made a competition between two friends? What is healthy or not in those pursuits?
While this section is not just about about faith and competition per se, we find today that there are endless examples of coaches and players who perform in a dynamic of faith and competition. Eric Liddell, the olympic gold medalist become missionary to China, who we heard portrayed in the classic movie Chariots of Fire when he said, “when I run I feel God’s presence.” I am sure those sentiments hold true for so many other famous, even Hall of Fame level competitors in some cases: NBA stars Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Stephen Curry, David Robins, Alonzo Mourning, Pete Marovich, Derek Fisher, Dwayne Wade, et al.; gymnasts Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles, et al.; NFL players Ray Lewis, Russell Wilson, Cooper Kupp, Kurt Warner, et al.; NFL Coaches Tony Dungy, Joe Gibbs, Tom Landry, et al; then there are the thousands of college, high school, and neighborhood players and coaches (Clemson coach Dabo Sweeny, Ohio State coach Urban Myer, et al.). Added to that are the millions world wide that compete in sports both recreationally and professionally.
John Wooden, who was arguably the greatest college basketball coach and mentor of coaches and players for decades was also known for his triangle of success and his practical faith. He taught his players that “Talent is God-given; be humble. Fame is man-given; be thankful. Conceit is self-given; be careful.” Wooden wasn’t just an amazing coach, he was also a devout Christian considering his beliefs to be more important to him than basketball. He once said “I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior.” Read more
Many coaches and players note the peace they experience knowing what often is expressed as “God has my back.” Tom Landry, one of the greatest NFL coaches, held this view: “The knowledge that my life is in God’s hands helps me to keep my composure or rain it in tough situations.” (Woodbridge, 230). Allyson Felix, a world class and olympic gold medal sprinter, says she tries not to focus on the pressure surrounding her: “I love Philippians 4:6-7 that says, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ That verse always [encourages] my heart when I am dealing with any kind of pressure, and throughout the struggles of life my faith calms my heart.” And Olymian Maya DiRado shared “Knowing that I’m a child of God and that his love for me is determined by nothing I can achieve or do on my own has given me a quiet confidence.”
Many express their faith in God as the reason they train so hard in order to honor God in all they do and to be an example for others. Derek Carr, an NFL quarterback said, “I have a very strong faith in God. He is the reason I play football. He has given me this special talent and I want to use it to glorify Him. I am grateful for the opportunity to further His kingdom by sharing my faith on and off the football field. At any moment, any second, my football career could be taken away but my faith and relationship with God will never be taken from me.” Simone Biles said “I think God gives every individual something special and mine was talent. So to never take it for granted, which my dad always told me don’t waste God’s gift that He gave you.” And Marcus Mariotta, Heisman trophy winner and NFL quarterback said, “Going ‘all in’ for God is glorifying Him with the abilities He’s given us and shining our light for Him.”
And still others are very outspoken in their faith during their professional years and after. Reggie White said, “If we continue to back down from the truth, we’ll never mean anything to the kingdom,” White said. “Dr. King once said before he died, ‘If you don’t have a cause to die for, you have nothing to live for.’ Jesus is our cause, so we should be willing to sacrifice our lives for Him and others.” Michael Chang, former ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) tennis great, one of the most tenacious fighters on a tennis court, and winner of the French Open, has been very outspoken of his Christian faith from day one on tour. He gives much of his time and resources to share his faith and autographs his pictures with “Jesus loves you.”
What is it about these athletes and coaches that have an inseparable bind, an intertwined or deep seeded core belief and action between their faith and their athletics? Through the Digging Deeper, The Intersection of Faith and Sport section, I hope to be an encouragement, sounding board, and conduit if you will, for further discussion and resources.
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As to the intertwined nature of religion (religion being a broader notion than a personal faith or relationship with God) and sport Lincoln Harvey suggests, and I think rightly so, sport has everything to do with our deepest identity, our being created beings who love to create (Harvey, 2014) and test our limits, through discipline, community, etc. Harvey makes the following argument supporting his claim that religion has always been woven into sport and vice versa. He provides this three pronged argument, 1) sport is universal, 2) religion is universal, and therefore 3) sport and religion are intertwined historically.
First, sport is neither local nor new but it is universal (Harvey, 2014, pp. 5-10). While there are local specialties or cultural favorites, sport has been played “always and everywhere.” In North American we have football, basketball, and baseball. And long before that it was “little war” (da-nah-wah’uwsdi) or stickball. In Africa, long before Western colonists entire villages gathered for wrestling tournaments. In India and China, some 3000 years ago there are ancient sporting events noted.
Second, religion is also universal (pp. 7-8) While not everyone would claim they hold to a supernatural or divine worldview, some form of religion is ubiquitous and people generally hold to some worldview that has a relation to the divine (be it animistic, poly-theistic, mono-theistic, etc.).
Therefore, historically, sport and religion are intertwined. Examples abound. The Jicarilla Apaches had the Go-jii-ya race based on the theology that the sun and moon were once in competition. The Central American Hahuatl play Tlatchtli attempting with their hips to move a 4kg ball into a suspended hoop in order to keep the world going as a remembrance of a war between men and underworld gods who beheaded the first two players of the game. The original olympics, only happening on one day were surrounded with a week’s worth of religions activities ranging from sacrifices, honoring Zeus, and feasts for the gods (Harvey, 2014).
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Now given that there is an natural integration of religion and sport, with an enormous amount of information and discussion via books, the internet, etc., what are areas that might be of interest to athletes, parents and coaches? And for the most part, going forward in this section, religion or faith will predominately refer to Judeo Christian faith/worldview. For example, are being competitive and Christian mutually exclusive? How does one coach or compete given one’s faith? How does ones view of God and one’s relationship to God affect one’s ability to handle pressure or adversity in life? What role does prayer have in competition? How do Christian traits like humility, kindness, and putting others before you jive with competition? Should sports persona be held to a higher level of accountability? What role does faith in one’s coaching have?
Watson and Parker (2015) in their book Sports and Christianity: Historical and Contemporary perspectives (which I review) offer other questions as well: What constitutes Christian character in sports and competition? What are the tensions surrounding notions of the modern sporting celebrity and religion, idolatry? Is there a theological justification for sporting celebrity to share their faith or “sell the gospel” based on their fame and human abilities?
I look forward to sharing insights and connecting with you over these issue and many others in the time to come. Please feel free to contact me with any thoughts you might have and topics you might like to see covered or approached.
Steve Clark
References
(See Digging Deeper Resources as well)
Lincoln, H. (2014). A Brief Theology of Sport. Eugene, OR; Cascade Books
Watson, N. and Parker, A. (Eds.) (2013). Sports and Christianity: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. New York: Routledge.
Willard, D. (1997). The Divine conspiracy: Rediscovering our hidden life in God. San Francisco: Harper.