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| Courtesy blog.apimages.com |
They stood in stunned silence, some openly wept, while others cried silently. An elderly man comforted a small girl. Many who saw the event on television left the room in tears, unable to bear the sight. What had these people seen? A terrorist attack? A mass shooting? The assassination of a beloved dignitary? Sadly, none of the above. They witnessed the Brazilian football (soccer) team lose badly in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
There was one picture of a woman that pushed me over the edge. Seen out of context one would have thought that she had received the news that her child had been brutally murdered. I thought that something is out of control here, something must be done. Therefore I decided to write this post because as the saying goes, better to light a candle than simply curse the darkness. The following are a few reasons why I think that people, especially Christians, should rethink how they view sports in general.
Loss of Perspective
I put this one at the top of the list because it provides a foundation for all the other issues. Sports easily becomes the highest priority in people's lives. So that if our favorite team or individual wins or loses, we win or lose. Everything else becomes less important then the game or match. Vince Lombardi, a famous coach of American football is quoted as saying, "Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing." Such an attitude goes completely against one of the primary tenets of Christianity (as well as Judaism) which is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." God should be the primary focus in a person's life, anything that tries to take one's focus off of God should be avoided.
Waste of Time/Money
It's no secret that there is a lot of money in sports. CNBC reported that Brazil spent over 11 billion dollars (US) on its preparation for the latest World Cup. Sadly, such spending is not too far from normal. Alongside the massive spending of major organizations comes the individual spending of those who watch the games and/or buy sport-related merchandise. In a world with so much need on so many levels, can we honestly say that God is happy when we spend money on things that merely entertain ourselves?
Some may say that they don't spend any on sports. They don't buy merchandise, go to games, or even host game-watching parties, they simply watch the games for free. However, in so doing, they spend a much more valuable resource, time. Money spent can be earned back, but time spent is lost forever. Again, how can God be happy when we spend time on things that merely entertain ourselves?
Us versus Them
Finally, sports creates an "us vs. them" mindset with our favorite team being against your favorite team, and ultimately me against you. I've written on this mindset before (here and here), so I won't go into much detail other than to say that I have experienced this first hand both in person and via social media. What makes this worse is that all the people involved in the confrontations, taunting, and general unChristlike behavior I witnessed claimed to be followers of Christ. People already talk too much about the hypocrisy of Christians, do we really need to add fuel to the fire?
Think About It
I hope this post has gotten you thinking. What we see and do ultimately affects who we are. Do we really need to spend so much time, energy, etc. on sports? I'll let you come to your own conclusion on the matter. I hope that you come to the right one and start living a life less influenced by the sporting world.
