By ClarkU
“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. Ecclesiastes 1:2-4
The opening lines of Ecclesiastes might lead the reader to believe that King Solomon was a nihilist unless you kept reading to hear his conclusion on the matter. For many years, this has been one of my favorite scriptures, but I have come to prefer the translation “vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” Once I overcome the words to the Carly Simon song and understood vanity more as being ‘empty’, ‘futile’ or bolstered by false pride, it related to many more things in life that once seemed spectacular, but in the end were truly empty or meaningless.
If you are a professional sports fan, you should be excited, as we are currently in the two week period of the year where all four major sports (five with Nascar?) are in season. NHL and NBA are just starting their seasons with NFL and MLB in full swing. If you don’t like pro sports, College football is abuzz every Saturday, while High School football and volleyball playoffs are just kicking off as well. If you work at it, fishing can be a year round sport, and there is probably a channel dedicated each day to a variety of motorsports. It seems there is something for everyone, and I’m not even getting into competitive obstacle courses, dancing, cooking, eating, or everything else under the sun.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Corinthians 9:24-25
So, you may be asking, “What’s the Point?” Ask any player or fan what their hopes are for their team each season, and ultimately it would be to win the championship, to prove themselves better than all their opponents. At the professional level, almost no team ever has an undefeated season, but to keep winning despite losses, is more than reasonable. But win or lose, what happens at the end of the season? It all goes back to 0-0. If a team wins the championship, are they content the next year? Chances are, they want to win even more the next year to defend their title. Ask any Cubs fan if they are content having already won a World Series, even if it was last in 1908. Win or lose, we always want the best for our team the next season.
Full disclosure, I am a fair weather fan. I usually root for the underdog and like close games, even in Iowa v. Iowa State. I do find myself rooting for the High School and College teams where I attended and with much less enthusiasm, I cheer for those Pro sports I liked when I was a kid, but I don’t get too worked up either way if they win or lose. In the end, the puzzle gets put back in the box and shuffled around for the next year. I do find myself rooting more for individuals I know who are playing. Though it is only my opinion, but I believe there is much more value in playing and coaching sports than in watching sports. Learning how to graciously win or lose is a skill that would benefit us all, even as spectators.
So, what are we to learn through all this competition in sports, academics, politics, and any other area of life where we feel the urge to win? While there is an opportunity cost to all the time, energy, and money we put into our passions, hopefully there is some benefit to these investments. The fruit of competition is not always increased love and forgiveness. What if we focused that same energy and enthusiasm we put into our faith? What would that look like? From what I have read from the scriptures, Paul seems to embody this mentality of leaving it all on the field for his faith. It comes through in his writings and his passion to see others grow and know the Lord as he does. Do you think it possible that we could have similar aspirations? For sure. As with any team or individual…with proper training and discipline, a winning season is always possible!
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14
Strength and Courage in Christ,
Clark
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