God and Sports
By Josh Haslam
Since it’s the Sabbath day for most Christians I’d thought I’d write a different type of article. These are my opinions and since talking about the existence of God is frowned upon by much of the media to not offend people I try to stay away from any specific beliefs I have. If you get offended by people talking about God just skip this article as it is not intended to offend anybody.
Most touchdowns, most game winning shots, most stolen bases or hits, most press conferences has a player thanking God for having that happen to them or for the talent they have. Even before games, players are down on one knee or doing a cross before an at bat. Here’s a very funny SNL skit with Tebow and the Broncos that kind of puts my point across:
Hopefully that video doesn’t offend anybody and should be taken in a light-hearted manner. Does God really care about sports? No I don’t think so. Are athletes above the rest of God’s children? Nope. Whether you believe in God or not, what makes a person good is the kindness and charity towards others. Athletes have been blessed with size and talent that helps them compete above and beyond the rest of us and even though they are seen as idols or gods among men, they are simply equal with the rest of us.
It cracks me up every time I hear an athlete say something like ” I want to thank God” after they win a game. Thank God for sure, but do you really think He helped you win over the other team? Did the other team not pray hard enough or not at all so that allowed you and your teammates to win the game? It’s a little concerning to me when athletes ego’s get that big that they think they are more important than their fellow brethren on the other team in God’s eyes. If there is a God, which I think there is, He is gonna be somewhere with a family that is grieving or a city that needs help rather than at a sporting event helping a certain player or team win.
So next time an athlete wants to thank God for his ability to get paid millions to play a sport, go out in the community and help someone in need. Please no more of these players thanking God then going out and using HGH or committing crimes. Instead use that hard earned money and the body that God blessed you with to bless the lives of others.
"For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. – Luke 12:48 (KJV)"
A lot of players do give back to their respective communities and start up charities and do a lot of good and to them I say well done. This is the type of person that kids can look up to and fans alike. For the rest of us that mediocre jobs that pay the bills and get by paycheck to paycheck, going out and serving is the best thing that you can do to make this world better.
The world is in a scary place right now as God has been kicked out of schools and mocked among most media while the very constitution and ideals that this country was founded upon are being questioned every day and pushed aside. My point to this article is not to get God out of sports but to be done in the right way where God is respected and athletes are paying it forward.
In God We Trust. In Sports We Enjoy. In Athletes We Look Up To.