I like sports. Not going to lie. I don't really understand a lot of what is going on, and most of the time I can't see where the ball is. But the excitement of watching a game or the thrill of spiking that ball is exhilarating. I have played basketball on an official team, softball with my church, volleyball for my society, and I cheer for guys soccer here at BJU (Go Tornados!!! :D) I was thinking about volleyball and cheering in relation to the Christian life. Yeah, I know that's a weird comparison and stuff, but that's how my brain works, especially after spending 3 hours working on a computer project.
So, how does volleyball work (as the sport--not spiritualizing). Everyone works together to get the ball back over the net without letting it touch the ground. At least, that's the goal. It doesn't always happen. But we try. And we loose. But one of the main goals of our volleyball team is to have fun playing together, and as long as we do that, I chalk it up as a win. Anyway, in volleyball, the whole team works together to get stuff done. We all have a different position to play. Some stand back in the corner, someone serves, someone is front and center. Different people do different things. But working together is when we get stuff done. If I decided to tell my team to take a day off, because I was going to do it all myself, I wouldn't get anything accomplished, and I would be laughed off the court. I need the rest of them, and they need me. I can't do it on my own, but no one person can.
So how does cheerleading work? I stand on the side of the court with 4 or 5 other girls, and we do the exact same thing (motions, words, etc). There is no individualism or seperate jobs for each of us. And in the end, if we win, no one notices the cheerleaders. It's all about the guys. We don't kick the ball into the net or throw it into the basket. We stand there and cheer them on.
So how does all this relate to the Christian life? I think there are principles from both volleyball and cheering that we can apply to the Christian life. The Christian life is a team sport. We each have different roles and responsibilities. Paul brings this out in the book of Corinthians. HE talks about how we aren't all eyes, or noses, or feet. The body of Christ is made up of all different types of people. There are the servers (people who get the ball rolling), the people who stand in the back and hit the ball when it comes to them, and the front and center people who seem to be everywhere doing everything at once. The church needs all of them to keep the ball moving. If one person tries to steal the whole show, everyone looses. We need to work together. There needs to be unity among the body of Christ.
At the same time, though, the Christian life is kind of like cheerleading. Most obviously, cheerleaders stand there and work (practice, etc.) but ultimately, when Z wins the Turkey Bowl, the guys are going to get their picture in the collegian and be famous all over campus. Not us. Which is totally fine. That's how it should be. They do all the hard work. In the CHristian life, we work hard for Jesus Christ, but when it's all said and done, He should get the glory. He did the real work in dying on the cross. Also, as Christians, we can "cheer on" other Christians, supporting them in their own race.
How are you doing in the Christian sports arena? Are you living as a cheerleader? Are you a volleyball-ist trying to steal the show? Work together. Support others. Give glory to Christ. That's what it's all about.
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