“If I can get a hold of a guy’s checkbook and sex-life, I can disciple him.”
A friend of mine made this statement many years ago. It impressed me then. It impacts me more now.
The Scriptures are clear on the power of money and sex. They have a way of capturing our heart that is distinct from many other parts of life. As such, they are powerful “idols” of our heart.
This reality of idolatry is why my friend made the statement he did. He recognized that as long as these idols remained in their exalted place, other steps of obedience were mere shadows of the discipleship desires. If someone is going to follow Jesus, these idols have to be dislodged, dethroned from their position as God-substitutes to their rightful place as God’s gifts where they can become the source of true joy that God intended.
Tim Keller expands this idol idea beyond sex and money in Counterfeit Gods by profoundly stating,
“Sin isn’t only doing bad things, it is more fundamentally making good things into ultimate things. Sin is building your life and meaning on anything, even a very good thing, more than on God. Whatever we build our life on will drive us and enslave us. Sin is primarily idolatry. Most people know you can make a god out of money. Most know you can make a god out of sex. However, anything in life can serve as n idol, a God-alternative, a counterfeit god.”
Based on these thoughts and my observations, I would now modify my friends statement to the following:
“If we can get a hold of a person’s money, sex-life, and sports, we can disciple him.”
Sports, like money and sex, have the ability to capture our hearts. Evidence abounds to this truth every weekend on every field or court.
However, there is
one difference between someone’s sports and their sex-life and money. It is hard, sometimes impossible, to get to someone’s monetary and intimate practices as well as the values that drive them. They are the “private” parts of life. People don’t want others to see them, in part because they don’t want to expose to others what they do and why. They are ashamed or rebellious. So they keep these realms hidden away.
Sports are different. Play a round of golf. Join a pick-up game of basketball at a neighborhood park. Watch a National Championship game including someone’s favorite team. Hearts are on display for all to see – even among relative strangers.
While it may be hard to find see someone’s true heart about money and sex, the opposite is true for sports. It is hard to hide our hearts on the court, on the field, spectating an important game. They just come spilling out.
This is what makes sports such a valuable arena for discipleship. Hearts are exposed. Values and beliefs revealed – both good and bad. Once exposed, they can be dealt with.
The question is not so much whether they are revealed. The question is more, how will we handle what is revealed – in ourselves, in others.
Along with this observation about the power of sports to reveal the heart comes the sad reality that, historically, we have not done very well in handling what is revealed, in utilizing this arena. We let ourselves and others go on playing sports for our own glory, making our involvement all about winning, full of anger at referees and other players, temper tantrums where players, coaches and parents storm off courts and fields or cheer loudly for the winners and boo the losers, all the while doing little or nothing about it.
At CSO, we want to be a part of changing this landscape. We want to herald the value of sports not just for ourselves but for the kingdom of God. We want people involved in sports not only for evangelism but also for discipleship, (We say sports are a great bridge for evangelism and a great laboratory for discipleship.) while providing tools for facilitating both through sports.
We do this because we believe God wants all of life to be lived for his glory, and, when the idols are torn down, the power of God is released in a person’s life. Passion for following Christ flows into other arenas of life. New joy is experienced.
If you share in this desire, we invite you to see sports in a different way, start utilizing it as this bridge and laboratory, and pray for us in our efforts to provide such vision and tools.
