Archive for Shalom Tips
Serving Others in the Pursuit of Athletic Greatness – Part 2
Posted by: | CommentsAgain, I am answering (in blog form, for they deserve so much more!) the questions: Why and how should a Christian pursue athletic greatness? Or how can I justify my drive to become the best athlete I can be?
Yesterday I started on point three: A Christian can joyfully pursue athletic greatness because such a pursuit can and should serve others. I said that 1) By pursuing athletic greatness, God is blessing and you are serving those you compete with and against.
Today I move on to my second assertion.
2) By pursuing athletic greatness, God is blessing and you are serving the community in which you compete.
Though this point is probably rarely reflected upon, I think it should actually be quite obvious to all, Christian or not. For as I sit here and think about this point, I can’t help but ask: what would Penn State (my alma mater) be like without their storied football program? Where would the consistent connection be for the thousands of alumni who gather together in various venues to watch PSU football and who purchase football jerseys or other PSU gear for themselves and their kids? If it wasn’t football, what would be the thing that unifies this incredibly diverse group of people – alumni, students, faculty, and everyone else?
We might find something else, but I don’t think we would find anything else more powerful (unless it was another sport, but even then, it is tough to top the numbers and reach of football). Indeed, the fact that every University in America would welcome a great football program is evidence of this. Whether Athletic Directors or College Presidents realize it or not, nothing can top the power of sports to unify a diverse group of people.
The story behind the movie, Invictus, is even better evidence of this. Nelson Mandela apparently understood the power of sport to unify and capitalized on it with the providential success of the South African Rugby team. Somehow many historical class and race struggles melted away (not perfectly, but at least at a greater rate) as the South African people joined their new President to cheer on the Springboks as they won the Rugby World Cup. Whether you have seen the movie or not, get the book (Playing the Enemy by John Carlin
All that being said, we know that usually, only successful teams carry this power of unification. A losing team usually does not serve the community nearly as well. After all, the only unity that results from losing is the one where the community unites to call for the firing of the Head Coach! And naturally, that isn’t the unity we are pursuing. Excellence is obviously a big key. Penn State football doesn’t serve to unify the university community and many other surrounding communities simply because it is there, but because the team is historically good. So also the South African rugby team didn’t serve to unify the country simply by competing, but by winning. Sure, the support may still be there (at times and in some respects), but athletic excellence is the key.
This point is particularly close to my heart. For from High School on up, my most enjoyable experiences as a competitor have been the ones where I instinctively understood that I was playing not simply for myself and my team, but for the blessing of a community. You play not simply to play, but to unify. For you go out on the court with the corporate name of the community on your chest. You seek greatness not simply for yourself, but for the joy of everyone involved. Your pursuit of athletic excellence is a service. God is at work through you, bringing blessing and pleasure to others through your athletic excellence.
When rightfully understood and embraced, I am convinced that there are few greater joys. Indeed, I believe that when everyone involved (fans, coaches, players, etc.) understands all of this, the joy of the entire community cannot help but increase. For when I as a competitor or coach really believe that my job is to serve others by pursuing greatness, I can do so with a much greater purity and zeal. And when the community at large knows that I am pursuing greatness for their good as well as my own, a sweet unity cannot help but evolve, provided of course that I can actually serve them by performing well.
Communities instinctively hate the player or coach that is clearly seeking greatness for his own glorification or career advancement. Why? Because he is serving only himself. He is not seeking the biblical ideal of Shalom-the peace, prosperity and well-being of everyone involved- but instead, disrupting it. His pursuit of excellence is a sinful pursuit as it centers only upon himself. Rather than unity, he brings discord. He inspires only a sinful response. Sports communities are right to run such a man out of town. Service is the key. God works best through (and usually blesses most) the pursuit of excellence that seeks to serve.
Can you imagine if just one community – from the coaches and players and ball boys to the people in the top row – understood and embraced the biblical ideals I have set forth in my first three points? Excellence, service, unity and joy to the glory of God? It would be a sports’ heaven. Or at least a taste of the real Heaven to come. But that is for point number four. And point number four is for tomorrow. All I can say now is that whether you are an athlete or not, I hope you see that the pursuit of athletic excellence doesn’t have to compete with love for others and the glory of God. Instead, let those two truths kiss! Seek to honor the Lord and serve others by becoming the best you can be.
Why Pursue Athletic Greatness? Our Six-Point Outline
Posted by: | CommentsAfter re-reading my introductory post from yesterday, I realized that in seeking to answer the questions I raised, I might be able to blog for a year. And maybe I should, for I do want to one day write a book on the topic (and actually have a handful of chapters in rough draft form). But even if I should, I am not going to do so (at least not now). Instead, I am going to limit what I have to say to six blog posts. Why six? I am not sure. But six it is. So let’s begin.
As a reminder, here are the two questions I raised.
Why and how should a Christian pursue athletic greatness? Or, as a Christian, how can I justify my drive to become the best athlete I can be?
Here are my six up-coming posts.
3) A Christian can joyfully pursue athletic greatness because such a pursuit can and should serve others. Part 1and Part 2.
4) A Christian can joyfully pursue athletic greatness because he (or she) lives in hope that one day all things (including sports) will be made new and that here and now, in sports, he (or she) can serve as an imperfect preview of that perfect day to come. Part 1 and Part 2.
5) A Christian should joyfully pursue athletic greatness in light of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Part 1 and Part 2.
6) A Christian should joyfully pursue athletic greatness with utmost diligence and utmost humility. Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
Those six may not be perfect, but they should serve us well. No doubt more could be said, but as I look at the clock, six seems to be a good number, for my blogging time is up. I look forward to covering point one tomorrow.
Shalom: The Way Things Ought to Be
Posted by: | CommentsBelow is one of my all-time favorite quotes- from anyone. In his book, Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin, Cornelius Plantinga writes,
The prophets knew how many ways human life can go wrong because they knew how many ways human life can go right. (You need the concept of a wall on a plumb to tell when one is off.) These prophets kept dreaming of a time when God would put things right again.
They dreamed of a new age in which human crookedness would be straightened out, rough places made plain. The foolish would be made wise and the wise, humble. They dreamed of a time when the deserts would flower, the mountains would run with wine, weeping would cease and people could go to sleep without weapons on their laps. People would work in peace and work to fruitful effect. Lambs could lie down with lions. All nature would be fruitful, benign, and filled with wonder upon wonder; all humans would be knit together in brotherhood and sisterhood; and all nature and all humans would look to God, walk with God, lean toward God and delight in God. Shouts of joy and recognition would well up from valleys and seas, from women in streets and from men on ships.
The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it peace but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.
If you think about it, we all hold some unwritten standard of the way things ought to be. The question we ought to ask ourselves is where does this unwritten standard come from? Who is its author? How has it been informed? Usually, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that we have just decided the standard ourselves. We pick things up here and there and then set our views up as ultimate and well-informed.
From a Christian standpoint, however, this is arrogance. Humility dictates the need for a source outside oneself. An authoritative one. This is where the Bible and the need for us to study it with diligence comes so clearly into view. For though many read it and see incoherence, when rightly understood and studied, a unified story emerges. And not just any unified story, but the ultimate unified story, indeed, the only unified story that can tell us how things ought to be, and what has been done to assure that Shalom will come to pass.
This line of thinking is about as practical as it gets. For no matter the topic, understanding how life ought to be is central to how you ought to think and act now. When thinking about sports or the environment or politics or marriage or whatever, apart from an authoritative standard, you thinking will be far from clear. Theology is incredibly practical.
I could say more, but that is enough for now. Suffice it to say that if what I have said really is true (especially if you are a Christian), you ought to do all you can to understand Shalom, or the way things ought to be. In subsequent posts, I will make a few book recommendations.
Get Organized or De-Clutter?
Posted by: | CommentsI count myself blessed a thousand times over to have a wife who is very orderly and organized. It no doubt contributes to the joy of our home and the joy of those who enter our home. But I know that one of her secrets is that she isn’t afraid to get rid of stuff. In that respect, I told her that she will love this post called “Eleven Myths of De-Cluttering.”
Swearing to our Hurt
Posted by: | CommentsI so promise to get back to the white guys and the NBA, but I came across another article in the New York Times concerning the trend of homeowners walking away from their homes and mortgages. If you remember, I linked to an article a bit back about the same thing.
One of the things I mentioned regarding the other article was the minimal attention paid to the fact that people are failing to keep their word. The same holds true for this article, but the author is a bit clearer about the problem of banks looking to maximize their profit without seeking the good of those who borrow from them.
It seems that because many banks are not willing (or at least do not appear willing) to renegotiate the terms of their agreement with the borrower, many people choose to walk away. Though I agree that banks should do a better job seeking a win/win situation, the folks walking away from their homes and mortgages are still in the wrong for doing so (especially the folks who can afford the payments). They still have a contractual obligation to pay up. And the reality is that they are walking away simply because it seems financially advantageous for them to do so. They are only thinking about themselves.
A verse from Scripture comes to mind. I can’t remember where it is (maybe Proverbs), but it says something about a righteous man ‘swearing to his own hurt.’ That is, keeping his word even if it leads to greater difficulty for himself.
We are desperate for more people who believe in such a thing. In the banks and in the homes. Among lenders and borrowers. It’s not overstating the case to say that for the good of the whole world, we should let our ‘yes’ be yes and our ‘no’, no. Even or especially when it hurts.
