Everything I Needed to Know I learned From Sports

I read Agapepress.org 's daily email news. It is from the American Family Association in Mississippi and relates the news that is sometimes quickly passed over by the networks because it has religious significance. One of their columnists writes about sports. Not sports news just character lessons from sports. I think his regular job is at a paper in Mississippi on the sports section. As I read the column http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/5/192006bl.asp I was reminded that good sportsmanship is good living all the way around. Communication, attitude, teamwork, selflessness, endurance, perserverance, giving it your all are all Godly ways to live. The apostle Paul likens the Christian walk to a race and that is apt but I think team sports are just as effective an analogy. We live on a planet where we have to live with people. It is human nature to want the glory for ourselves, it is a poor athlete who hogs the glory from his team. Not one person on the superbowl teams could have one the game by himself. Even the game winning player has several hundred people to credit...parents, teammates, competition, coaches, wives, siblings, etc. It's been said behind every good man is a good woman and I believe behind every good person is a host of good people. As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another and without people to challenge us in practice, or anyplace we cannot improve. The article talks about the disrespect that Barry Bonds shows for the game and his team by not even attempting to run out the pop up and I cheered. The Christian life is like that. If we choose not to fight against the evil in our world and the apathy in our hearts, churches and communities we are doing a great disservice to the Lord and to ourselves, families and congregations. Everytime I read Brad Locke's column I am struck by how right on the mark he is. Sports are fun and relaxing but we also can learn from them. Or we should apply our faith to our sports. Play with everything you've got to bring the glory to God.