TEN SPORTS CLARIFYING
QUESTIONS FOR CHRISTIANS
by Pastor Rick Sams
Given: 90% of Americans watch, play or talk sports
every day. Sports are deeply imbedded in our national DNA. So how can we
maximize their impact instead of allowing some of their downsides to hurt us?
Some questions discussed together as a family may help.
1.How are we trying to maximize the time we spend traveling,
sitting or hanging out together for passing on our values to our children? To
other adults we might want to influence?
2.In what ways are we intentionally taking lessons they�re
learning in sports and applying those to spiritual or character development?
3.How are we integrating biblical principles like "preferring one
another (Phil. 2:4), live at peace with all men (Rom. 12:18), encouraging one
another (Heb. 3:12-14), speaking with grace and truth (John 1:14, 17),
effort over winning (Colossians 3:23), and our need for Sabbath rest (Mark 2:27)
into our family�s practice of sports?
4.How does Hebrews 10:25 "Don�t
forsake your assembling together… fit into our sports schedule?
5.How can WE apply I Corinthians 9:22 to sports: "I have become all
things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some"?
6.Do
we have sufficient unorganized playtime compared to organized playtime?
7.Are we getting sufficient rest?
8.Are we watching for signs of
burn out or injury? Over-zealousness? Being overly competitive? Being too hard
or too easy on ourselves? Our kids? How are we addressing those?
9.Are we
secretly fulfilling our dreams through our kids, making it more about us, as
parents, than about our children? Are we too motivated by potential
scholarships? (90% of parents overestimate how much assistance of all kinds
their kids will get in school)
10.What are the signs our priorities are
in balance? Out of balance? What are we doing to help them have a healthy
balance between sports and other life commitments right now? How about for the
future?