The Olympics… So what?
"Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come." 1 Tim 4:8
* We are coming to the end of the Olympic games in Rio, a city I know well. The games & the organization were actually much better than the international media anticipated. No problems with zika or with safety - 17,000 police officers/military providing security. Yes, we had some bad behavior on the part of some athletes… too much partying and then getting in trouble… doping… bad refereeing…
* Over 4 billion people world-wide have been watching the events in Rio de Janeiro - Athletes running, wrestling, swimming… muscles aching… doing everything in order to win a medal, preferably a gold one. Consider the years of preparation to win gold… but the production cost of a gold medal is approximately $600 and it contains only 6 grams of gold. Not pure gold!
* Oh, but the fame, the name recognition, the fringe benefits that come with it… For the 22 thousand well-trained athletes, these weeks represent everything they’ve ever worked and lived for. Just from one network there are 5 channels broadcasting the games.
* The Bible also talks about races and training and winning a prize. It is the race, the journey in which we are told to remain faithful to the point of death and we will receive the CROWN OF LIFE, meaning life that never ends with God. In the Olympic games only a few receive medals, in the Christian race, all who remain faithful to Christ receive the crown.
* The modern Olympics were preceded by the Olympian Games, going back to the year 776 B.C. They were held in the temple of Zeus at Olympia, & the athletic contests were held as a means of paying tribute to that Greek god. The games and physical contests were religious affairs. Those who took part did so to glorify a deity. And common belief was that the prizes came from a god.
* Almost 3000 years ago, the first 200-yard race took place and was won by Corœbus in a meadow beside the river Alpheus, and he received a wreath made of bay laurel (wild olive). Since then… winning has become everything, to paraphrase Vince Lombardi.
* Why do people deny self & train so much for something that Scripture says has little value? The obsession for medals has become a fixation not just for athletes, but also for nations. (Even though the IOC does not keep national scores of medals – only sportswriters do!)
* Have you ever considered if we all would be at least as interested in promoting the Kingdom of God as we are in winning Olympic gold? If we would do our best as Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 to “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works . . . and glorify your FATHER which is in heaven”? To me Jesus is telling us to train hard and to perform at our peak, following the tactics He has established, and to give God the glory.
* I am not opposed to the Olympic games. I actually have enjoyed watching some of it, but I just wish we had the same enthusiasm for Christ and His Kingdom… for what lasts forever, for the eternal things. And I have to tell you that I admire missionaries that face excruciating pain for Christ much more than Olympic athletes even if they do train hard. If you do not agree with me, just compare the result of the work of a missionary and an Olympian… The missionary in the jungle who toils to bring people to Jesus, day in and day out deserves much more admiration than Usain Bolt with his records in 100m dash or 200m dash.
* Another version of 1 Tim 4:8 says that physical exercise is good for very little… Well, yeah, we need to exercise… all of us, but we are on a journey to heaven and that takes a lot of preparation. So my question is: Are we fit to win the Crown of Life? Oh, and on that journey we are not competing against each other… We are glorifying God and helping each other to win…
* There’s a marvelous Olympic story of sorts to be found in the Bible book of Luke. It’s a Thursday evening – just before Jesus was crucified. And there in the Upper Room as they celebrate the Lord’s Supper, Jesus turns to Peter, one of the intense competitors of all time, and tells him this: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.” And then: “And when you have turned back, STRENGTHEN YOUR BROTHERS.”
* We are not just facing a 100 meter race - we are on a life-long marathon… more than 26 miles and 385 yards… We need to support each other… we need the strength of the Lord.
* Here is a final verse: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!” Isaiah 52:7. The feet of those who bring good news… not the feet of Olympic athletes…
* Be at peace! Rev. Don Sonntag
"Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come." 1 Tim 4:8
* We are coming to the end of the Olympic games in Rio, a city I know well. The games & the organization were actually much better than the international media anticipated. No problems with zika or with safety - 17,000 police officers/military providing security. Yes, we had some bad behavior on the part of some athletes… too much partying and then getting in trouble… doping… bad refereeing…
* Over 4 billion people world-wide have been watching the events in Rio de Janeiro - Athletes running, wrestling, swimming… muscles aching… doing everything in order to win a medal, preferably a gold one. Consider the years of preparation to win gold… but the production cost of a gold medal is approximately $600 and it contains only 6 grams of gold. Not pure gold!
* Oh, but the fame, the name recognition, the fringe benefits that come with it… For the 22 thousand well-trained athletes, these weeks represent everything they’ve ever worked and lived for. Just from one network there are 5 channels broadcasting the games.
* The Bible also talks about races and training and winning a prize. It is the race, the journey in which we are told to remain faithful to the point of death and we will receive the CROWN OF LIFE, meaning life that never ends with God. In the Olympic games only a few receive medals, in the Christian race, all who remain faithful to Christ receive the crown.
* The modern Olympics were preceded by the Olympian Games, going back to the year 776 B.C. They were held in the temple of Zeus at Olympia, & the athletic contests were held as a means of paying tribute to that Greek god. The games and physical contests were religious affairs. Those who took part did so to glorify a deity. And common belief was that the prizes came from a god.
* Almost 3000 years ago, the first 200-yard race took place and was won by Corœbus in a meadow beside the river Alpheus, and he received a wreath made of bay laurel (wild olive). Since then… winning has become everything, to paraphrase Vince Lombardi.
* Why do people deny self & train so much for something that Scripture says has little value? The obsession for medals has become a fixation not just for athletes, but also for nations. (Even though the IOC does not keep national scores of medals – only sportswriters do!)
* Have you ever considered if we all would be at least as interested in promoting the Kingdom of God as we are in winning Olympic gold? If we would do our best as Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 to “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works . . . and glorify your FATHER which is in heaven”? To me Jesus is telling us to train hard and to perform at our peak, following the tactics He has established, and to give God the glory.
* I am not opposed to the Olympic games. I actually have enjoyed watching some of it, but I just wish we had the same enthusiasm for Christ and His Kingdom… for what lasts forever, for the eternal things. And I have to tell you that I admire missionaries that face excruciating pain for Christ much more than Olympic athletes even if they do train hard. If you do not agree with me, just compare the result of the work of a missionary and an Olympian… The missionary in the jungle who toils to bring people to Jesus, day in and day out deserves much more admiration than Usain Bolt with his records in 100m dash or 200m dash.
* Another version of 1 Tim 4:8 says that physical exercise is good for very little… Well, yeah, we need to exercise… all of us, but we are on a journey to heaven and that takes a lot of preparation. So my question is: Are we fit to win the Crown of Life? Oh, and on that journey we are not competing against each other… We are glorifying God and helping each other to win…
* There’s a marvelous Olympic story of sorts to be found in the Bible book of Luke. It’s a Thursday evening – just before Jesus was crucified. And there in the Upper Room as they celebrate the Lord’s Supper, Jesus turns to Peter, one of the intense competitors of all time, and tells him this: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.” And then: “And when you have turned back, STRENGTHEN YOUR BROTHERS.”
* We are not just facing a 100 meter race - we are on a life-long marathon… more than 26 miles and 385 yards… We need to support each other… we need the strength of the Lord.
* Here is a final verse: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!” Isaiah 52:7. The feet of those who bring good news… not the feet of Olympic athletes…
* Be at peace! Rev. Don Sonntag