VBC Perspective
Victory.
It’s a phrase that propelled many of us to begin engaging with sports from a young age. Many young athletes start playing sports because its fun, it allows us to be with our friends and we get snacks after the game (Who doesn’t love granola bars, fruit snacks and juice after playing soccer with your friends). But even at a young age the first taste of winning a little league softball or baseball game does something inside of us. I am at the stage of life where I am coaching my 7yr old daughter’s soccer team, my 10yr old son’s baseball team and help out with my 11 yr old daughter’s competitive basketball team. Our lives are engulfed in the world of sport and as a father / coach my challenge is helping my kids and their teammates develop a healthy relationship with competition, winning and losing.
The phrase “Victory Beyond Competition” is one that I have adopted as a mantra that I want each and every athlete I engage with to understand clearly. Victory within competition is easy to pursue, you score more points, goals and runs than the other team and you win… score less points, and you lose. It’s pretty clear. However, when we measure victory within sports by the scoreboard, we miss key elements of how the Lord is able to use sports to shape us.
Our society (and especially the world of sport) has never seen a time like we are experiencing now. Economies, communities, schools and businesses are shut down because of COVID19. For a lot of us, we have worked year after year, workout after workout, practice after practice to be able to compete and now we have been robbed of the opportunity. Nobody plays sports to work out and not compete, no one signed up for 6am training sessions all summer only to have their season postponed or worse, canceled. Many of you are heartbroken over the loss of your sport or opportunity to compete and this is something that does need to be grieved. Yet, at the same time we must be reminded that because of Jesus, there is still a profound way to experience victory without the context of competition.
Victory beyond competition is possible when we are able to view victory through the lens of eternity. Victory beyond competition is attainable when we choose to live for God’s Kingdom (big “K”) rather than our kingdom (little “k”). The key to living for God’s Kingdom rather than our own kingdom is perspective.
Perspective is always key. As and athlete perspective is what gets us into the gym to work out, perspective gets us into the pool for a hard morning session and its an athlete’s perspective that allows him / her to say no to certain things so they can compete at the highest level. Just as an athlete needs perspective to be the best athlete they can be, its eternal perspective that allows a Christian athlete to see themselves and their sport in a Godly way.
But how do we do this? How do we keep our eyes on Jesus and have eternal perspective when we are disappointed about our opportunities being cancelled and distracted with so much unrest and uncertainty around us? The answer lies in looking at those who have come before us and learn how they navigated their circumstances.
The Apostle Paul is a perfect example of someone who had steadfast focus on Jesus and his mission no matter what. To the letter to the Philippians he penned 5 words that have stuck out to me over the years, “But what does it matter?” (Philippians 2:18a) The context of this verse really puts it in perspective.
Paul was seen as an enemy of Rome because of his unwavering allegiance to Jesus and the preaching of the Gospel. He was beaten, put in prison and isolated. There was controversy about his ministry and message among believers and the religious establishment; yet none of this swayed him. He didn’t allow his circumstances to prevent him from experiencing eternal victory in Christ. The majority of Paul’s recorded ministry was done remotely from a prison cell, but he didn’t allow the obstacle of being imprisoned prevent him from continuing his mission of glorifying Jesus with his life.
Athlete. You too can resist the temptation of complacency to set in by having the same perspective as Paul. Paul knew his final destination (Philippians 1:23) and he was certain that his citizenship was not this earth (Philippians 3:20).
3 ways athletes can experience victory beyond competition when competition stops:
- Trust that God is in the midst of your disappointment and talk to him about it.
- Spend time talking to, encouraging and praying for teammates that are also struggling
- Confess your dependence on sport and ask God to show you his greater purposes for your life
Victory beyond competition is not just a sports slogan or the tile of this column. Its an opportunity to view your sport and life through an eternal lens and see yourself and God clearly through the platform of sport and worship him appropriately.