Why Do I Compete?

We are all on a journey throughout our life and this journey becomes our story. For many of us a significant part of our story involves sport. In a journey to become an integrated competitor it is first important to develop an understanding as to why we compete and the purpose behind approaching competition.

There are many different reasons to compete and the following is just a quick glance at a few of these reasons. Some who participate in sport are recreationally driven and play for health, community with others, or pure enjoyment of the activity itself. Others are more performance driven and compete because they have a "Players" mentality and are driven to compete at a high level. Some feel the need to try to discover who they are and find their identity through competition while others recognize that God has blessed them with tremendous athletic abilities and they compete to honor Him through the use of these gifts.

There is a great clip from the movie Hoosiers. Coach Dale calls a timeout and informs Strap that he is going in for an injured player. Immediately you see Strap down on his knees praying while Coach Dale is going over the game plan. After the timeout is over, Coach Dale tries to get Strap's attention with no luck. Eventually, Coach Dale tells Strap, "Strap, God wants you on the floor." Strap raises his head from prayer and grins as he takes the floor. The next scene shows Strap in the flow of the game and performing at a high level. Another timeout is called and Coach Dale approaches a grinning Strap and asks, "What has gotten into you?" Strap replies, "It's the Lord. I feel his strength."

This is a great illustration of a player who understands why he competes and recognizes that God has gifted him with athletic ability to compete at a high level. Strap found his identity in Christ and played with pure joy as he was in the flow of the game and honoring Christ by using these abilities.

How does Scripture play a role in guiding us along our journey in recognizing why we compete? Paul, in Philippians, shares with us our call to continue to grow and mature as individuals along our journey. He calls us not to act out of our “flesh” but to live from a relationship with Christ in an understanding of growing towards perfection through Him. What is the flesh? Galatians 5:19 tells us that our flesh operates out of a sinful nature producing sexual immorality, impurity, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, envy, and drunkenness. All of these flesh patterns are basically our insecurities acted out and all of these can be found in one form or another in individuals who compete in sport.

Like in every facet of life, sin has infiltrated sport and created tensions that plague us as we compete and can lure us to respond out of our flesh. Growth and maturity are a process throughout the journey that Christ calls us to strive towards although it is never completely attained in our lifetime but only completed once Christ returns again to reign over His perfect Kingdom. This correlates into competition because we are to grow and mature to help in the process of bringing restoration and redemption to a broken and imperfect world. As a part of this broken world is a broken sport culture full of wounded competitors.

Paul sums up how we are to approach the maturity process as it relates to our journey and our understanding as to why we compete. In Philippians 13:12-16 Paul states, "I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it." The Message

The results of acting out of the flesh can lead to negative personal and/or team consequences. In sport it can lead to attitudes and actions that can have a detrimental impact on the outcome of a game or relationships with teammates, coaches, opponents, and officials. The great news is if you are a follower of Christ then through the direction of His Holy Spirit you are able to work to mature into the man God has called you to be. Competition just provides another avenue to see where growth is needed.

Remember that along the journey of understanding why we compete, mistakes will happen and have happened and are a natural part of the learning and maturity process Christ has called us to pursue. Christ’s forgiveness and grace allows for mistakes to be made. Mistakes aren’t bad as long as we learn and pursue growing through them.

So the question comes back to why do I compete as a sportsperson? Am I working towards maturing into the person Christ has called me to be and as a result does it flow into how I compete? Do I compete out of insecurities or out of a confidence in whom the Creator has created me to be? How does sport play a part in my personal journey?

Journey Through Sport

Stay tuned for periodic discussion on what it may look like to go on the journey to see what it takes to compete as a sportsperson who fully integrates their Christian faith into sport.