Are Sports an Idol?

 

“Sports can be a source of distraction 
and even idolatry among us.”  Dave Miller

 

Recently, one of my childhood heroes, Hank Aaron died. There was nothing better than a hot night at County Stadium watch Hammerin’ Hank hit one out of the park. Some of my greatest  memories from childhood are attending an Atlanta Falcons game. My heroes were Greg Brezina, who’s a committed Christian, and Tommy Nobis. 

  No doubt it’s always been there to some degree, somewhere, somehow professional sports devolved from entertainment to big business. Professional sports were entertainment. They’re amusement. Muse means “to think;” a-muse means “to not think.” Professional sports were an opportunity to forget about life and just enjoy it. 

  Most people don’t want to be “preached” at by their amusement. Apparently, the NFL and other professional sports didn’t get the memo. If early reports on the ads coming for Super Bowl LV are to be believed, the funny, heartwarming ads of cute kids and heroic animals are being squeezed aside for “preachy” ads this year. The days of Betty White and Snickers, Budweiser frogs, or Dodge Ram’s “God made a farmer” commercial are being dumped into the dustbin of history, at least this year. 

  The popularity of professional sports has been waning for some time with salaries fit for royalty, players’ strikes, and abhorrent behavior. Add, the blackmail of asking taxpayers to fund new stadiums or they’ll take their ball and go elsewhere, hasn’t endeared them either. A few scandalous reports of abusing a girlfriend or drugs and the party has been pooped. 

  One blessing of this pandemic has been some honest evaluation of professional sports. Social scolding has given professional sports the same popularity as your annual physical. Who wants to watch their favorite team play only to feel like they’re being lectured about their cholesterol levels? 

  This spiritual gut-check has been greatly needed by the people of God. As John Calvin, astutely observed, “the human heart is a perpetual idol factory.” Our human tendency is to take good things and elevate them to the place of gods. The serpent of healing of Numbers 21 became an idol in Israel’s later history (2 Kings 18:4). Satan loves to take the good and get us to give it a godlike status. Sadly, it’s often happened with sports, frequently we’ve been “conformed to the world” (Romans 12:2). 

  When the game has priority over personal time with the Lord or corporate worship, when we’re skinflints with our finances when it comes to worship, yet have no problem dropping big bucks for a sporting event or fan paraphernalia, we need a heart check. When we know players’ stats but are ignorant of God’s Word and eternal truth, there’s something wrong. 

  Sports have their place. Scripture uses athletics to illustrate truth. It’s idolatry when we prioritize them over God and allow His good gift to become a god. How do we know we’ve wrongly elevated them? 

  Sports are idolatry when they’re what we most want our children to be discipled in. If one sport is good, more is better. Parents, as early as pre-school, feel pressure to sign their child up. Many have them in a sport for each season. What’s often jettisoned is a focus on eternal matters, marital and parent-child relationships, and a child’s basic need for downtime, imagination development, and play. Most won’t be the next Aaron Rogers. Few will receive a college scholarship. Most will peak in high school. 

  If a child doesn’t develop a relationship with Jesus in those first 18 years, the statistics of that happening tumble in adulthood. With the secularization of culture, Sunday games and practices are normative. Parents would question a teacher about an overload of homework. They should question coaches about Sunday games and practices. If no one ever asks, no one ever will. At the very least, with the blessing of technology, schedule family worship via the internet during the season. 

  Sports are idolatry when they captivate our hearts and focus. God is jealous for His glory and anything that competes for His rightful place of first passion in our hearts. There’s a problem when our heart is centered on our “sport,” instead of on Christ and His kingdom. Jesus doesn’t want to be our highest passion. Imagine if I told my wife, “Of all my women, you’re my favorite.” Would she accept that? Do we expect God to accept that kind of fidelity? God calls us to love Him with ALL of our heart, soul, and mind. 

  There’s nothing wrong with breaks and relaxation. Time spent watching or playing a game is not, de facto, wasted time. When, though, we add up the hours spent watching sports, or the matters left undone while obsessing over sports, an unhealthy trend often surfaces. 

  Sports are idolatry when more important relationships are squeezed out. Rarely does a spouse have the same affinity for sports. Usually, one goes along out of love for their mate. Watching a game can be a bonding time or it can be a wedge. It’s all about focus. My mate or children shouldn’t feel as if they must compete. 

  Sports can be a bridge-builder for the gospel or an obstacle. Many lost professional athletes have been won to Christ by a colleague who was a Christ-follower. We can do the same. God designed us with our love for a sport. He expects us to be stewards of that gift and use it to share the most important love with a friend, God’s love. 

  Sports are idolatry when they greatly alter my mood. We all enjoy it when our team wins. Yet, when a loss affects our mood for hours or days, things are out of whack. It’s just a game, played by those on a financial level most of us can’t even dream of. 

  Do spiritual losses affect us like that? Are we as excited when someone comes to Christ or when spiritual ground is gained? 

  Sports are a good gift from God and are to be used in a way that pleases the Giver. Enjoy them yet don’t let them become an idol. To please God, we must keep things in balance. Are they in balance in your life?

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.