Do sport and faith go together?
Phoebe Simcock,
23rd Nov 2021
Tags:
Life
Blog
Sport
Having a faith is like having a supportive friend. They fit into all areas of your life, always there when you need them and give you security and flexibility in everything that you do.
With most friends, we find that they can’t guide us in every subject because it would be impossible for them to know everything, is this the same with faith?
We wanted to know more about how faith and sport worked together and if there’s anything about sport in the Bible. My research took me to the UK charity ‘Christians in Sport’ who answered all of my questions.
‘Christians in Sport’ use the slogan ‘We’re all in for Christ. All in on sport. And all in it together’. They aim to reach the world of sport through Christ, and their website includes lots of important information such as links to their podcast, applications to sports camps and access to the app ‘Prayermate’, which sends prayers straight to your phone.
Aside from a wide range of interactive facilities, the part that stood out to me was under resources and it was an article named ‘how sport and faith fit together’. As someone who has rarely taken part in competitive sports outside of school, it was a question I had never considered but immediately needed the answer to. We know that faith moulds into everything that we do, but how does it fit into sport?
The ability to play sport is an aspect of God's creation.
The article starts with the quote "The ability to play sport is an aspect of God's creation that can be enjoyed for his glory". Sport as a hobby can be difficult to stick with when the pressures of school, family life and social life get in the way.
The article tells us that God has blessed us with the gift of talent in sport, and giving a large amount of our time to sport is still worshipping him and thanking him for his given gifts.
God puts us in the world to make use of the skills and talents that we have to make the world a more beautiful place, much like his request that Adam and Eve tend the Garden of Eden. So, in this case, those who are talented and enjoy sport are born to play, and are fulfilling their goals by meeting other individuals and spreading the word of God.
This website is full of great tips and links to resources, so if you’re questioning how faith and sport will fit into your life, they have all the answers.
