Can Competition be Christ-like?

Dear Mark,

You are not only developing in body you are also developing in mind and in spiritual perception. In fact, your last letter made me feel uncomfortable.

There is no doubt that the Lord is concerned about our emotions as well as our words and actions. You are absolutely correct when you apply Rom. 1:32 to situations of vicarious feelings. (From the way you expressed yourself, you no doubt know what “vicarious” means, but just in case I’ll define the way I’m using it: “enjoyed or experienced by someone through his imagined participation in another’ s experience.”)

Your letter caused me to take along look at my watching sporting events. I think I’d better frankly admit that I’ve been too emotionally involved as a spectator. Furthermore, I think I’d better cut down the amount of time I spend spectating. When I think about it, it really is silly to get all wrapped up in some hometown team when I can’t even remember who won the Rose Bowl last year. The way of the world is a passing thing and being naturally inclined to the things of the world, we get attracted by what is passing.

So your points have caused me to resolve to change a few things. Number one: I’m going to watch the emotions and not get so involved as a spectator. Number two: l’ m going to quit doing so much watching. That doesn’t mean I’ll never watch sports again, because sometimes I find that it’s a good way to unwind a bit. But m going to cut back on the amount I have been doing.

Actually your letter arrived just after I overheard a couple of our young people describing their Dad’s habits during basketball season. I’m sure they’re not the “couch potatoes” their daughters made them out to be and!’ m sure they don’t fall asleep every night in front of the tube, but that is the impression they are leaving with their girls. Listening to that conversation kind of made me wonder if my kids would describe me the same way.

Well, anyway, I’ve already cut back on watching sports and I plan to make it a permanent change.

You and the team

Before addressing a bigger issue, I just want to make one comment on your thinking that you can mentally separate yourself from the violent spirit of your football coach and the team. I think you’re kidding yourself. If you really don’ t participate in the “gung ho,” “take their heads off’ approach, I think you’ll feel so much out of it that you’ll have no fun and quit. But we’ll see!

A bigger issue

In thinking about the area of competitive sports, a bigger issue than physically hurting the other person comes to light. The basic attitude the disciple should have in respect to other people is to seek their welfare ahead of his own. You see it expressed in many different ways in scripture: “in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves;” “he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve…I am among you as he that serveth;” “though he [Christ] was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (Phil. 2:4; Lk. 22:26-27; 2 Cor. 8:9).

Of course, the very essence of competition is to win, which means the other person loses. That’s true of football, ping pong or a country walk. “A country walk?” Yes, I’ve been on a country walk where the other person keeps on walking faster and faster trying to show he can out-walk me. Which reminds me of the time a person was trying to out-walk me home and beat me by a nose. In the last few feet, he got going so fast, he tripped and fell, but he did win!

Playing without competing

You’ll probably say that it’s ridiculous to play any game without trying to win. Why, if you were playing against someone you knew was trying to let you win you wouldn’t enjoy it yourself

That’s not altogether true. If you are both out to have an enjoyable time and see that the other person does too, you don’t have to emphasize winning and losing to make a game fun.

Just the other weekend we had 245 people at an ecclesial picnic. At one point, there were two basketball games, one football game, one baseball game, one volleyball game and a game of horseshoes going on. Just out of curiosity, I went around and asked. The only places they knew the score were at volleyball and horseshoes. And in those games, they kept on switching the teams around so no intense competition developed.

The best game was one of the basketball games where I stood and watched for awhile. They were all brethren who were good athletes; there was no referee so they were policing themselves. There were no arguments in spite of vigorous play. If someone made a good play, they were frequently complimented by someone on the other team. Once or twice a notable mismatch occurred with a taller, better player going against a shorter, slower one. I could tell the better player deliberately held back so as not to make the other fellow look bad. It wasn’t so obvious that the better player merely handed the ball over, but he certainly didn’t use his best moves.

Now I think that was a case of brethren playing together in a brotherly manner. That activity was really more socializing of brethren in Christ than it was a basketball game.

Dads do it

Most of us have had Dads who played games with us as we were growing up. Now that you’re a bit older, you realize your Dad was not going all out to win every time he played with you. He wouldn’t let you win all the time. But he would play just a little above your level so that you would get some points and enjoy yourself Every once in a while you might even win. And, as long as you were a good sport and didn’t gloat about it, he’d probably let you come close the next game, too.

You can play this way with people only where love exists. You can have a nice, clean-cut, enjoyable time together within the bounds of the principles of Christ.

However, I’ll tell you something, I don’t think you can take this attitude with your school football team. It will only work amongst adults where the spirit of Christ is truly active.

Much love,
Uncle Brad