"Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play…it is war minus the shooting."

George Orwell

Honour one another

If your team loses a big game there are several ways you can deal with this. As you go into the changing room you sense the huge disappointment that you and your team mates feel. It would be a natural reaction to pout and sulk, to go into the corner of the changing room and sit on your own.

You might even try to divert the blame "if Mary hadn't missed that tackle then I wouldn't have been put in that difficult position in the first place. If Sandra hadn't missed that sitter in the last minute..." You try to slide blame on to someone else. No! At this point ask yourself two questions: have I given God my best, whatever the score; can I support my team-mates right now? Get your mind off what they think of you and start thinking of how you can support them!

That is loving your team mate as yourself. It may boil down to asking at any one time on the field, "Am I more concerned with my welfare at the moment than that of my colleagues?" When that arises, to focus on the needs of the team first is to action God's way in sport.

If there was ever a place to invest time it would be here in your sports club, where community can easily be nurtured and a Christian player's faith as they play can be translated into everyday relationships because they have begun to earn the right by the way they play. But there is a cost. It has to be intentional. You have to structure your life around representing Him here and in this way.

It means giving your sport a high priority in my life in terms of time commitment, energy commitment, money. It does not just involve turning up to play but putting time in, deliberately building friendships, making phone calls, going to social functions, doing the extra to take it seriously.

It may mean being the last to leave after the game. That is being with your team-mates, just being there to talk, to get to know people. Be part of the banter but care for people. Notice when someone looks down and ask them what's wrong. Take an interest.

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