The excitement fills the air. You are watching a soccer game, but not just any soccer game. It’s the World Cup, and your team is about to play in the semi-finals. Surrounding the TV set, you and your buddies stuff popcorn in your mouths, nervous about the outcome. Finally, the game reaches the last couple of minutes. Both teams are tied! Will your team win? That would make you and your buddies ecstatic. Will your team lose? That would make you and your buddies mope around for the remainder of the day.
But is it worth all your time? Is it worth getting a bad attitude over your team losing? In all honesty, it isn’t. Sports can be very addicting. We have them in schools, colleges, and universities. Playing sports can be fun, but we shouldn’t let them overtake us.
For some people, sports are everything. They watch their team’s every game, rejoice in every point or goal scored, and are devastated at each loss. Sports eat up their time, energy, and, in some cases, a good attitude.
Where will watching sports your whole life get you? Nowhere. When you catch yourself watching sports constantly, and when you can only be happy if your team wins, your life will be miserable. Sometimes, all sports give is disappointment after disappointment. You know what it’s like. You’re distraught whenever a game is canceled or whenever your team loses. Even when your team wins, the excitement is empty. So empty. It only lasts for a little while.
Sports can also steal your dreams. My aunt knew two boys who got trapped in sports, although one wanted to go in the army and the other wanted to go into the police force. They never had the chance to go into the career they preferred because they both got injuries playing sports in school.
Some people see sports as life, but they aren’t. Jesus once said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 16:3; KJV). Jesus alone can give you hope and life. Only he can make you feel fulfilled. And guess what? Jesus will never let you down. Never once. A game always comes and goes. Your team occasionally loses. Or, in times like these, all games are canceled. But Jesus will never leave you. Hebrews 13:5b, NKJV, says, “[Jesus] himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”
I’m not saying it’s wrong to watch sports. I have favorite sports, and I even keep track of the World Cup whenever it comes around. I have favorite teams and favorite players, but I don’t put my hope in it. If I did, I would be devastated each time my team lost, or each time a game was canceled. Instead, I put my hope in Jesus because he’ll never let me down.