Day 1: Sports and the Human Spirit

"I have long believed that competition in sports is detrimental to the human spirit." So says Debra Herrera in the most recent issue of Reader's Digest. Is she right? Does competition hurt humanity?

Herrera, doubtless, is writing from a totally secular worldview. She probably buys into today’s philosophy that no man is better than any other man, no viewpoint better than any other viewpoint. Thus competition is pointless. My worldview is opposed to such a philosophy. Belief in God means belief that the world was created for God, that there is a right way and a wrong way, that there is absolute truth. And there is something in every man that knows he was made for more than this temporal, fleeting existence. There is something in man that desires God.

So where do sports fit in? Does competition in sports help or hinder this aspect of human nature that ultimately desires God? For the casual on-looker sports may appear to be neutral ground. It neither helps nor hinders man in his search for deeper meaning.

However, to the not casual on-looker it quickly becomes apparent that competition in sports can actually help in man's search for truth, because sports are allegorical of what God has created man for.

Sport, of any kind, demands the best out of its players. There is nothing of today's apathetic, relativistic spirit in sports. To be remembered, to be honored, one must be among the best. The precision and speed and strength demanded of today's top athletes is stunning. Similarly, there is something in the human spirit that is crying out for the best. The culture wants to stifle that, to encourage mediocrity. Christianity says no, there is a best; there is a right and wrong. Where else is that truth reflected in today's culture better than in the sporting world?

Herrera claims that it is the competition in sports that is so detrimental to the human spirit. But that competition - that thing that will pay almost any price to defeat the opposition - is allegorical of what is going on in a cosmic sense all around us. There is a war going on for the hearts of men. It is a life and death struggle. And men must be willing to align with the good against the evil. Yes, the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry is not exactly cosmic, but it certainly illustrates the passionate desire to conquer the enemy. Our culture seeks to blur the lines between good and evil. There are no "bad guys," it says. But rivalry in sports helps to keep alive the all-important idea of good vs. evil.

Lastly, sports promote unity, both among teammates and among fans. There is an instant kinship between people wearing the same sports jersey. There is a common bond that is at its height when the competition is the fiercest. This, too, is allegorical of what God intends in man. God has built into mankind the need for fellowship. What is more strengthening than communion with a fellow-pilgrim of "like precious faith?" Again, sports provide a clear reminder of that truth.

So let us not say that competition in sports is detrimental to the human spirit. Rather sports serve as an allegory to truth - a representation of the world as God has created it. Sports are about striving for the best, overcoming the enemy, and finding unity. These are the things our culture needs more of.

Certainly sports are a very dim reflection of truth. I do not advocate going to sporting events as one would go to church. But God has filled the world with symbols and allegories of Himself. "The heavens declare the glory of God!" Might it not be that other things in the earthly realm declare His glory as well? Sports have been around almost as long as humanity itself. Competition is not new. There is something there that is part of the human spirit. And I propose that competition is a part of the human spirit in order to remind man, in however small a way, of what he should be in this cosmic struggle.