I know that those of you who are not sports fans probably get a little tired of all the articles that Stan and I write that include or are based around sports analogies. And I understand that, so I try a lot
of time to equal that out with analogies from other areas of life that hopefully you can relate to as well. But please understand that most people draw their analogies from areas of life with which they are familiar. The Apostle Paul did that often with sports, tent making, farming and the like and so from time to time I try to find other illustrations.
But I began to wonder Why are people so drawn to sports, especially men? Personally I think for many of us who played sports as kids and some even as we grew older (I played adult league basketball until I was 45 and competitive softball until I was 52) sports becomes a place where we can put to use or release a competitive spirit. This desire to win or conquer, to come out on top is in all of us. And that is what we like about our sports teams. We get excited at the joy of winning and when it happens there is such an adrenalin rush. Have you ever noticed that a sport’s team fan, always says, “We won!” even though they had nothing to do with the win?
I was reading an article the other day that basically stated that it was better to root for a poor team, not expected to win than for a good team that is expected to win. The reasoning being that if your team is not good and you know it you can sit back and watch a game and not get too invested in the outcome. This is particularly true with baseball, you can enjoy watching young prospects come up and perform well or if you get into a close game it brings excitement that even if you lose you get that “But we played well” feeling. But if you root for a team that is expected to win then every moment of a close game becomes very tense. And if you lose a game you are supposed to win… well let’s just say the feeling isn’t good. I root for a baseball team and a football team that are usually lousy and for a college basketball team (yes you know that team in the light blue) that is usually expected to win. So what he said really resonated with me. When I watch the Reds, my baseball team, play I sit back and relax and watch the game. When I watch the Tar Heels play basketball I pull up my rocking chair about three feet in front of the TV and rock until towards the end of a close game when I am usually pacing. I know weird! But still I don’t totally agree with the premise. I am a Christian, and yes in this lifetime it often looks like we are losing, we are often the underdog but the Bible teaches us that those observations don’t see the whole picture, in the end it is those in Christ who win.
So regardless of how your game of life is going remember these words from the Apostle Paul in
2 Corinthians 4:8-12 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.