In life, it can get very easy to become distracted by that which will never truly satisfy. Just like the goblet must be filled to provide meaningful satisfaction, it is only when we value Jesus above all else that we will be truly satisfied in life.
In the world of sport, it can be very easy to fall victim to pursuing satisfaction in wins, championships, influence, money and fame, but as we examine these factors, it becomes apparent that they are just like a diamond-studded goblet. By themselves, they will never truly satisfy.
True satisfaction comes from that which strengthens. Without water, the diamond-studded goblet enhances nothing about us as we struggle through the dessert. It certainly has monetary value, but money cannot satisfy that which the body needs, for without water, the body will wither and die.
Life is a difficult journey that we are all on, and if we want to stay "hydrated" we need to pursue that which will strengthen and provide us with what we need to continue in our journey. It is only Jesus which will truly satisfy.
Christ created us in His image. He designed us to be in relationship with Him and to pursue relationship through the pursuit of becoming more like Him. As we pursue Him in these ways, we are strengthened and prepared to tackle the challenges that the journey of life throws at us. We can choose to pursue things like wins, championships, influence, money and fame, but those will never satisfy us through the dessert of life. It is when we hold onto Jesus that He will "strengthen our frame" and "satisfy our needs in a sun-scorched land" (Isaiah 58:11). Worldly pursuits cannot satisfy, because they cannot meet our needs. Only Jesus can meet our needs, and therefore, only He can truly satisfy. For these reasons, to pursue anything above Him is to pursue something empty. It is just like refusing to exchange a diamond-studded goblet for a never-ending well of fresh water.
Wins, championships, influence, money and fame are not "bad" in and of themselves, but they empty. Winning a championship does not make us more like Jesus. Making money, gaining fame and influence, and becoming the best at something does not make you more like Jesus. All of these pursuits are end results, and there are no end results in life which will truly satisfy. We were created by Christ, and for Christ, so only the pursuit of Jesus will truly satisfy. And since this pursuit is one we can never "arrive" at (for we will never even be close to the character of Christ), anything which is final in nature will simply be unable to satisfy our deepest desires. To think that things like wins and championships will satisfy is illogical.
Does this mean that we should not pursue championships and wins? No, it just means that they should not be our priorities. They must never be valued over pursuing Jesus.
Pursuing Jesus means pursuing His character. Character such as....
- Courage
- Perseverance
- Hard work
- Peace
- Self-control
While this is definitely not an exhaustive list, one thing that should be clear is that these characteristics are ones which will make us more efficient in the things that we do and pursue. Therefore, as we pursue Jesus through our engagement in sport, we should pursue characteristics such as these listed above, and characteristics such as these will only enhance performance. Therefore, we can pursue championships and wins because they are by-products of demonstrating these characteristics. They are by-products of demonstrating Christ.
The key term here is "by-product". If our motives for demonstrating these characteristics is to win instead of reflecting Christ, then we are pursuing worldly desires over Christ. We must keep first things first. When we pursue Christ above all else, seeking to honour Him and demonstrate His character, we can expect good things to happen, but we must never treat God as a "genie". God will not be mocked (Galatians 6:7-9). We must always keep our motives in check and ensure that we are pursuing Christ for Christ - not pursuing Christ for wins and championships.
To summarize, since we were created by Christ, for Christ, then by our design it is only He who can truly satisfy. Sport provides us an avenue to pursue Christ and His character, and such character can lead to successes such as wins and championships as a result. But it is imperative to ensure that our motives are always Christ, not worldly successes.
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