What does Audience of One really mean?
Through the years athletes frequently identify motivational phrases that help them express their passion for sports and competition. These motivational phrases are written on T-shirts, wristbands, 3x5 cards hanging in lockers and even tattooed on athletes. For athletes these phrases serve as an external push that prompts them to go beyond their limits or reminds them of why they started competing in the first place. These visual focal points can be powerful for athletes during a grueling workout or in the midst of competition. Through the years many Christian Athletes have identified phrases that declare spiritual realities while they compete. The past couple years the phrase “Audience of One” has resurfaced as a key slogan in the world of Christian Athletics. The problem is that the phrase has the potential to be misunderstood and can actually cloud the genuineness of the Gospel.
I work with college, Olympic and professional athletes for a living. The biggest obstacle I observe them needing to navigate is the reality that everything they do on the field, court, track or swimming pool determines their worth and value to fans, coaches, parents, a particular team or organization, and these voices can be deafening. As an NFL Chaplain I see this play out on a weekly basis from the sidelines and locker-room. One particular season, we were 3-1 and playing an 0-4 team on Sunday Night Football. Being the only NFL game on tv that night ensured that millions of people would be watching. Before the game began, our team took the field with the stadium filled with cheers from the hometown crowd, the energy was electric. Energized by the cheers and support of the hometown crowd the team was confident as the game was kicked off but the certainty and confidence, we started the game with quickly took a hit when we found ourselves down 24-0 going into the locker-room for halftime.
Then something peculiar happened.
The hometown crowd, who 90 min earlier were cheering their beloved team sent the team into the locker-room with resounding boos. The same people who were cheering them before the game started turned on them because the team and players didn’t meet their expectations.
There is a valuable lesson in this illustration that I didn’t want our players to miss at our next bible study session. As humans we were all designed with the innate desire to be loved and accepted and unfortunately we look for love, worth and affirmation from the wrong places. When an athlete ultimately looks towards the fans, media and coaches for affirmation and worth they will be severely disappointed because no person can give us the ultimate affirmation and eternal worth our souls crave.
I believe this is why the phrase “Audience of One” (Ao1) resonates with so many athletes. On the surface this phrase seems to be the antidote to the constant pursuit of affirmation that an athlete’s soul craves. However, when taken out of context this phrase can be just as detrimental to an athlete’s psyche and spiritual maturity as looking for affirmation from fans, media and coaches.
What does Audience of One really mean?
When an athlete says they are playing for an “Ao1” they have the potential to inaccurately perceive God as a substitute for the fans in the stands as they play FOR God. I hear a lot of athletes say they want to play for God rather than thigs of this world, however nowhere in Scripture do we see that God desires us to play, perform or live for him. On the contrary the sealing of every believer with the promised Holy Spirit ensures that we are living, playing and competing WITH God, rather than for him (Ephesians 1:13-14).
Playing FOR God suggests that God is in the stands waiting for you to do something spectacular that allows Him to stand up and cheer, which incorrectly implies that God is solely interested in our performance and is only glorified when we perform for him. On the other hand, playing WITH God puts in practice the truth of the Gospel that reminds athletes that they are already fully accepted, affirmed and deemed worthy regardless of performance and God’s affirmation is not something athletes strive to earn, but know that its already available to them.
An athlete has the choice to play FOR God’s attention and affirmation, or FROM God’s attention and affirmation. A correct understanding of “Ao1” understands that your athletic performance cannot impact God’s affection for you, you don’t have to strive FOR it. But when an athlete competes and plays FROM God’s love and affection they already possess in Christ, they are able to compete free from the pressure of voices that compete for their attention and they are truly free to do what they love to do. When an athlete knows they are already accepted and loved their level of motivation has the potential to skyrocket because their motivation is not based on fickle opinions of others, rather their motivation is an attitude of thankfulness which has the ability to fuel them, no matter the circumstance or score board.
An Ao1 athlete does not need to look to outside sources for affirmation, acceptance or love from fans because they already possess an inheritance and future that can never perish, spoil or fade away (1 Peter 1:4) and when an athlete surrenders to this reality they will learn to enjoy and excel in competition the way God intended.