Are the Olympic Games Inspiring You?

Did you watch any of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver this weekend? As I watched, I kept thinking what a learning moment this is. Twice in his writings, Paul uses the metaphor of an athlete to illustrate the severity of a disciple’s walk.

In his first letter to the Corinthians (9:25) Paul compares Christians to those who participated in the “games”—a reference to the Isthmian games that were held at Corinth in the off-years of the Olympiad. Like the Olympics, but on a smaller scale, the victor won a wreath of fir. No wonder Paul said those athletes competed to win a “perishable” crown, but we an “imperishable.” Paul emphasizes the need for a strict lifestyle: “everyone who enters an athletic contest goes into strict training.” And in the same way, in his second letter to the Thessalonians (2:5), Paul reiterates the need to abide by strict rules, like an athlete who wants to win the crown, without being disqualified for ‘cheating.’

I encourage you to reflect on Paul’s metaphor as you watch the Olympic Games this and next week. And let their success inspire you to greater discipline in your walk. Their success has not come easily. They have subjected themselves to a strict training schedule, proper nutrition, and self-sacrifice. It seems to me that everything an athlete does goes ‘against the grain’ of our culture of comfort and self pleasing. What a great illustration of what Jesus requires of those who follow Him. Paul says we should be like those Olympic champions who “run to win the prize.”