the Lamb. Let us make sure that the Lord
Jesus Christ is our banner for all to see. “I
will sing of mercy and judgement, O Lord
unto thee. I will behave myself wisely in a
perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto
me? I will walk within thy house with a
perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing
before mine eyes. I hate the work of them
that turn aside: it shall not cleave to me. A
froward heart shall depart from me. I will
not know a wicked person. Whoso privily
slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off.
Him that hath an high look and a proud heart
will not I suffer. Mine eyes shall be upon the
faithful of the land, that they may dwell
with me. He that walketh in a perfect way he
shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall
not dwell within my house. He that telleth
lies shall not tarry in my sight. I will early
destroy all the wicked of the land that I may
cut off all wicked doers from the city of the
Lord” (Psalm 101).
We need to take a long term
view in the things of this
life, for it is not a matter of
making progress like the
athletes who compete for
earthly glory. We must focus
on the coming holy wedding
ceremony, of which we will be an important
part. Self-discipline, commitment and dedi-
cation are very important if we are to
succeed and attend that royal marriage
supper of the Lamb. If we admire earthly
things and earthly leaders of every sort, ask
yourself, how ready and how steady am I to
meet the Lord?
The idolatry of sport
To many young people as well as to
professional players, sport has become an
idol. Whatever we serve, even worship,
whatever consumes our highest interest and
devotion becomes our god or idol. The
baptised Christian has turned to God from
idols (1 Thessalonians 1:9) and is admonished
to guard himself from any other idols (1 John
5:21). Although in context this may have
reference to actual graven images of stone,
wood and metal, the principle is the same
(Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5; Philippians
3:19). We must flee from all types of idolatry
(1 Corinthians 10:14). We must have no-one
and nothing (including sport), as the chief
object of our attention, other than Christ
himself. He must receive our highest commit-
ment, greatest interest and total loyalty.
Sport is undeniably the idol of both many
young people and adults today. Listen to their
conversation and you will inevitably hear
sport discussed.
A spirit of pride
Our pioneer brethren put it in this way:
human nature or sinful flesh has three
principal channels through which it displays
its waywardness against the law of God.
a) The lust of the flesh
b) The lust of the eyes
c) The pride of life
The common, if not the
inevitable, result of
winning in a sport is pride.
Pride is inconsistent with
the way of humility taught
by Christ and his apostles.
Paul admonishes the
saints, “Let nothing be
done through strife or vainglory, but in lowli-
ness of mind, let each esteem others better
than themselves” (Philippians 2:3). One
sports writer states, “Unless a player has
confidence in himself, who else will? A little
cockiness will not hurt you.” Yes, cockiness
will hurt you, for athletic cockiness is a form
of sinful pride. The old covenant writings are
as clear as the new covenant that pride in
heart is an abomination to the Lord - he shall
not be unpunished (Proverbs 16:5,18; 18:12).
Greed and exploitation
Sport is gambling as well as idolatry. The
problem of greed is one which permeates the
professional and collegiate athletic scene.
We should be reminded that a covetous man
is an idolater and has no inheritance in the
kingdom of God (Ephesians 5:5). We are to
put to death covetousness which is idolatry
9
Great Celebrations
~ continued ...
The believer is to be humble in
spirit (1 Peter 3:8). He is to be
characterised by lowliness and
meekness (Ephesians 4:2).