Sportsmanship--Christian Values

Christian Values and sports. What is the connection?

As the Director of OK Premier volleyball I feel there is a strong connection between our Christian values and sportsmanship. The design of the ball with the cross on our clothing is there to remind us our Christian values are so intertwined with good sportsmanship as to be inseparable. To "be the best we can be", "the best team mate we can be", "to give thanks in all things" and so much more.
.
"We should all seek to compete to the best of our ability, treating ourselves, our fellow teammates, and our competitors with dignity and honor". Strive to be the best you can be.

When our players embrace this attitude, they become more than good players, they become strong young ladies ready to take on the "Game of Life"

Below are some verses about competition and how we should act. There is also a short article from "Christianity Today".

2 Tim 4:7....
I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.

Romans 12-8:10....
The one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Proverbs 27:2....
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.

1 Corinthians 9:24......
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

Sports with a Deeper Purpose Christianity Today

Wheaton College's new athletics director, Julie Davis, perspective reflects the unique place athletics has at a Christian school.
Yes, our goal is to be growing kids to be whole and effective Christians through their athletic experience. Sports provides a unique opportunity because of the idea of competition and team and working together for a common purpose and a common goal. There is something unique about our world that enables us to shape students pretty effectively.

What's so unique about the spiritual dynamics in sports?

Athletics provides deeply emotional experiences, so it's in the context of an emotional experience that the teaching point can be made. When you have competed and lost, for example, the teaching point is, How do you handle disappointment [in other arenas]? How do you handle huge success? Where are we directing our joy as the result of success? Another notion that's powerful is working together for a purpose, and that you can't achieve that goal without your teammates. That deep sense of needing each other and leaning on one another is a powerful example of the body of Christ. And the fact that you are working for something beyond yourself, you are working on behalf of the team, in the same way that much of our Christian walk is modeled in a parallel fashion. So translating that from an experience on the field into kingdom work is the goal.

Does competition—at the very core of athletics—undercut those spiritual lessons? Sports puts athletes who are Christians in the position of wanting to smash their opponents.

Yes we do! [laughs] That question lurks around the edges of conversation; CT recently wrote about that. We compete within a set of rules and we need to be fair in that, but we also need to not be afraid to honor God by being really good. I don't think it does us or the name of the Lord any good to be less than excellent. So our competitiveness is driven to really be all that we can be for the glory of God. We are out there representing him, and to be less than excellent is not a positive thing.

Please let us know your schedules! We would love to try to come watch all of our girls play.
Pete Mills

link to entire  story; http://www.jasonstaples.com/blog/2010/sports-and-christianity-how-should-christians-handle-competition-580

---