Thou Shalt Not Play

Thou Shalt Not Play

Appeared in the February 5, 2010 edition of The Cabinet

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This past week, a cover feature appeared in Christianity Today that suggested something that rocked my sporting soul to the very core. The thrust of the article, entitled “Sports Fanatics” and written by Shirl James Hoffman, is that sports have become an idolatrous obsession in America and that Christians also have a moral obligation to “rethink its fascination with football” and other head to head sports that are said to include violence, deceit, and “physical carnage.”

While I completely agree that in many cases, sports certainly has become an idol in popular culture, I bristled a little at the thought that football might be inherently structured to capitalize on my sinful nature. As I considered this, I suddenly began to ponder the other “sporting sins” that I might be encouraging by attending football games or even committing by starting up a pick-up game of basketball.

As I deliberated some of these concepts in the context of both Scripture and common sense, I made a few conclusions of my own about some of the “sins” that are committed in the context of competition.

1. Head to head physical combat in sports such as football does not equate to violence.
I think that it is important here to distinguish between physicality and violence. Violence is defined by Webster-Merriam as the “exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse.” If I clothesline someone as they’re trying to mug an old lady, my physical force was not intended to injure or abuse, but to protect. The rules of football do not call for the necessity or manifestation of violence, but merely physicality. Physicality can be and is legitimate when used in the proper context – I would be willing to argue that Christ’s episode of “righteous rage” in the temple would be classified as an act of aggression, albeit perfectly justified.

Scripture even seems to weigh in on the issue. In Genesis 32, we are given the account of Jacob wrestling with God (or at least an agent of God). I have an awfully hard time believing that I should think any less of physically combative sports when it seems that God himself is willing to partake. Our physical struggles against others within the sporting context, I think, represents and symbolizes our struggle with God. Physical combat in sport is a celebration of the body as a temple of God, not a perversion of it.

2. “Deceptive” actions such as head fakes, pump fakes, ball fakes, and trick plays are not inherently sinful.
The first time I ever considered the fact that some types of actions in sports might be considered sinful, I got really worried. If I do something that gives off the impression that I’m going to do one thing and then I do something else, isn’t that essentially lying?

The difference here again is a matter of context. In the real world, we are typically deceptive to benefit ourselves or our friends at the expense of depriving someone else of something they may legitimately deserve. Sports incorporate deception for a completely different reason: to increase the skill level of the game.

Deception is built into sports as a way to teach learners both the rules and the fundamental strategies of the game. Basketball players learn that when they keep their hips square, they will be in the best position to play defense and be prepared for whatever the opposing player may do. The rules of the game allow opposing players to fairly develop strategies that will give them an advantage over their opponent – the spirit of competition.

3. Poker, blackjack, and other card games sometimes associated with gambling are not inherently sinful.

The topic of gambling is one we’ll save for another day, but I wanted to address card games in general because I grew up hearing about families who didn’t play cards because of their association with gambling, drinking, drugs, and houses of ill repute. However, learning to play card games such as blackjack and poker can serve as a fascinating introduction and developmental tool for the ideas of both probability and risk. If you’re not convinced, your local meteorologist or insurance agent can fill you in on their importance.

If it sounds like I’m desperately trying to dismantle the legitimacy of some of these “sporting sins”, it’s because I am. I am the first to admit there’s a hundred ways to do something wrong in sports for every one way there is to do it right, but that’s no different than the rest of life.

Anything that has been created good has the capacity to be perverted in a fallen world. When we try to get rid of all the violence, hate, idolatry, and untruth in sports by getting rid of sports, we’re killing Albert Einstein because of his bad hair. Learning to redeem sports in society is part of our calling as Christians, and it’s something that God expects us to wrestle with for the rest of our lives – both literally and figuratively.