Archive for Theology
Why Pursue Athletic Greatness?
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday I posted about the general lack of emphasis within sports circles on what I believe to be two of the most important characteristics for any great athlete (or individual), namely, character and drive. I used Tim Tebow as an example as he certainly seems to be a young man of high character and high drive.
In reflecting on that post, a question kept coming to mind: In light of Tim Tebow’s faith in Christ and his deep drive to become the best quarterback he can be, 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?
As I said, this came to mind as I thought of Tim Tebow, but as you might imagine, it is a question that is very close to my heart. Indeed, it can’t help but be close to my heart because I am a Christian and I have spent the bulk of my life pursuing athletic greatness. I suppose you can say that I need good, biblically based answers to these questions in order to justify the numerous hours I have spent and continue to spend pursuing athletic success. If the glory of God and the needs of others are as important as I make them out to be, how can I spend so much time on something as seemingly trivial as becoming great at a game?
Not only that, but such questions are personal in another regard. I have kids, four or them right now, all of whom I will encourage to pursue greatness at something (and yes, basketball might be among…just might). But why? What foundation will I give them? And if sports is among their pursuits, what sort of Christian perspective will I provide for them so that they know without a shadow of a doubt that the pursuit of athletic greatness is not (or at least does not have to be) at odds with the pursuit of God and His glory?
Some out there might think that such questions are unnecessary or will just lead to needless confusion. Naturally, I do not believe that, but instead would actually propose that if Christianity is true (as I believe) and that in being true, the Bible best speaks to how live ought to be lived in love for God and service to others, whatever it says about sport are the most important things you will ever learn about sport. Indeed, I would even go so far as to say that the only way to become the very best you can be is to embrace a biblical perspective of sport.
Sound a bit crazy? Maybe. But I don’t think it should. After all, everyone knows that the way we play is an extension of who we are. So what we believe about sport and the pursuit of athletic greatness means much more than we might initially expect.
All that is said by way of introduction. Stay tuned, for beginning tomorrow, I will begin to answer my questions and to justify my assertions. I am not sure how long I will go, but as I sit here today, I realize that there is plenty of material to come.
Lessons in Humility
Posted by: | CommentsThis past week, Rick Reilly weighed in on the need for everyone to forgive Michael Vick. Having blogged on this topic before, I naturally agree. Reilly states the argument well, however, as he normally does.
I also came across this E:60 story on former Ohio State football star, Maurice Clarett, who competed this year for the UFL’s Omaha Nighthawks. Having followed his fall, it was encouraging for me to see a man of humility who, like Vick, genuinely seems to be thankful for the opportunity he now has.
I don’t know what Vick’s or Clarett’s foundational beliefs are, but their stories serve to highlight the reality that a good dose of humility enables a man to see life clearly, possibly for the first time. Both of these men were highly touted athletes, who enjoyed a very high level of success early on in their athletic careers. Neither was valued as a man of humility and integrity, until they took a fall. Only after their falls were they humbled and thus, able to see their lives clearly and to appreciate the opportunities they always took for granted. We are wise to learn from them and to make it a primary aim in life to cultivate true humility.
From a Christian perspective, such cultivation first and foremost requires the pursuit of God. For it is only when we begin to understand who He is that we can really see who we are. A clear knowledge of God gives us a clear knowledge of ourselves; and a comparison of the two is what makes us humble. I’m not sure if these dynamics are at work in the lives of Vick and Clarett, but I certainly hope so.
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.
Christians and the Environment
Posted by: | CommentsThree men weighed in for Christianity Today on how concerned Christians should be for the environment. Their answers aren’t comprehensive, but they are a great start.
Here’s Al Mohler.
And Jonathan Merritt.
Also worth mentioning is that Jonathan Merritt’s book, Green Like God, looks like a good one to check out.
Great Quote on Work and the Christian
Posted by: | CommentsI will be sure to get my second group of observations concerning the OTL piece up soon. Until then, here is a great (and needed) quote from Dorothy Sayers. I am not sure who originally posted this quote, but I saw it at both my man Larry Lazarus’ blog and at Justin Taylor’s.
The Church’s approach to an intelligent carpenter is usually confined to exhorting him not to be drunk and disorderly in his leisure hours, and to come to church on Sundays. What the Church should be telling him is this: that the very first demand that his religion makes upon him is that he should make good tables.
. . . Let the Church remember this: that every maker and worker is called to serve God in his profession or trade—not outside of it. The Apostles complained rightly when they said it was not meant they should leave the word of God and serve tables; their vocation was to preach the word. But the person whose vocation it is to prepare the meals beautifully might with equal justice protest: It is not meant for us to leave the service of our tables to preach the word.
The official Church wastes time and energy, and moreover, commits sacrilege, in demanding that secular workers should neglect their proper vocation in order to do Christian work—by which she means ecclesiastical work. The only Christian work is good work well done. Let the Church see to it that the workers are Christian people and do their work well, as to God: then all the work will be Christian work, whether it is Church embroidery or sewage-farming.
