Don't Waste Your Sports - Part 2

In Chapter 2 of Mahaney's book he asks the question, "what are sports really for?" The answer to this question is the answer to what everything in our lives are for and is found in 1 Corinthians. The passage is 1 Corinithians 10:31, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

It is always important when interpreting Scripture to set the context of the passage or verse. The particular context of this verse was that it was written to Christians living in the pagan city of Corinth. The Christians that lived in Corinth faced a serious dilemma that caused a lot of controversy. The question was, now that they were Christians were they allowed to eat meat that was sacrificed to idols then sold in the market? Would the act of eating this meat be dishonoring to God? Paul's answer was that the meat was not affected by the sacrificial rituals; therefore, Christians can eat the meat. However, if Christians went to the pagan banquets where the animals were sacrificed and participated in the rituals, then they would be sinning against God and committing idolatry.

So according to Mahaney, the point is that "the important thing for the Corinthians was not the origin of their food, but the nature of their worship" (17). Consequently, Paul says "so, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

In regards to sports, many over the years have made an idol out of it. In baseball I grew up hearing about the "baseball gods," and referred to my favorite players as my "idols." In sports we hear words like curses, redemption, meaning, purpose, and hope. Naturally, many Christians would say that, as a result, we Christians should stay out of sports. But not so, according to Paul. Paul would say that sports are just another "opportunity for us to glorify God" (17). Like the meat issue in Corinth, the problem was not the meat, the problem was the heart of the person eating the meat. Like the sports issue in our culture, the problem is not the sport, the problem is the heart of the person playing the sport.

The question is: are you playing to glorify God?