"Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play…it is war minus the shooting."
Hospitality
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4:9
Offering hospitality may at first glance seem to have little to do with professional sport! But if we interpret hospitality as caring for people, then the application will be more obvious.
Do we care for people? Do we try to put people at ease? It isn't easy in the world of sport. When a new player - in our position - joins in the club, we may want to push her down the stairs, rather than care for her! Loving your team-mates is hard when they are rivals for your position.
A member of the UK squad in an Olympic sport recently told us, "For three months of the year, we are a united team against the world. The rest of the year we are a group of individuals battling each other for the places in the team". Dog eat dog! Loving your team-mate is not easy if he is in the team and you are not but think you should.
Commenting on this passage, Annabel Robinson said that she found the reference to without grumbling "encouraging, since it recognizes that hospitality can be demanding. There are time when the faithful Christian will feel exhausted and be tempted to feel resentful, but when we look to God for strength, he does supply the energy that is needed".
As we interact with people today, remember that God is pleased with us as we love and serve them.