What if there was a Spiritual Olympics?
What events in these Spiritual Olympics would you be qualified to enter? What events would you wind a medal in?
Have you been watching the XXXII Summer Olympiad? What are your favorite events?
As I was recording this week’s podcast episode the Games are in full force.
The Summer Games in Tokyo have been amazing in so many ways. New world records for speed and skill. Old limits broken.
There are so many stories of hard work, dedication, setbacks, challenges and victories all along the way for the athletes, their families, and coaches. Some of the stories are shared in the media. Some we’ll never hear.
I haven’t watched the Games as much this time as in years past, but it’s always inspiring to see barriers broken down, on and off the playing field.
And I really appreciate it when an athlete gives the glory to God. Even when they don’t win a medal. Many athletes dedicate their performance to God.
The world has ascribed immense glory to winning a gold medal at the Olympics. And for good reason. It is an accomplishment that should be honored.
A Spiritual Olympics?
But have you ever wondered if there should somehow be some sort of Spiritual Olympics?
I don’t know how it would work because we usually judge things and determine winners based on material measurements of time (races), weight (barbells), distance (how far and and how high in jumps), score (soccer, baseball, etc.), as well as excellence of form (events like in diving for example).
But no athlete gets a gold, silver, or bronze medal based on how loving or humble or patient they are. The Olympic winners are judged and decided by the outward appearance of things, instead of what’s in the heart.
Judging what’s in the heart
Even the prophet Samuel had that problem when he went to anoint a new king over Israel. He saw the eldest son of Jesse and was sure that he was the future king.
So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him!” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:6,7
(As for judging by the outward appearance, for the Olympics, we could add, how fast he can swim or run, how high or far she can jump, etc. )
But Samuel didn’t learn his lesson! He thought the second son, who was like his older brother, strong of stature, was the one. God said no again.
It was only when David showed up that God told Samuel this was who would be the new king. God looked on David’s heart and saw the good there.
Only one person could be king. Only one person can get a gold medal in a particular Olympic event. (Except of course for a team event, or if there’s a tie for first place).
In the Spiritual Olympics, everyone can get a “gold medal”
But in these imaginary Spiritual Olympics, everyone who meets God’s standards gets a “spiritual gold medal,” so to speak.
Paul describes the prize we get as a “crown that will last forever.” (1 Corinthians 9:25)
There’s another description of the prize, or “spiritual gold medal” in Philippians 3:10
I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.
You could also think of this desire and effort “to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead” as one of the events in the Spiritual Olympics.
The prize is eternal life. This doesn’t mean something we get way off in the future after we die. Eternal life is something we can begin to experience now when Christ dwells in us and we dwell in Christ.
God looks upon our hearts
So, if there were a spiritual Olympics, I guess God would be the one handing out the prize of eternal life.
If it were up to us, we might judge whether someone was worthy of eternal life depending on all sorts of external factors based the outward appearance of whether they were living what we thought was the appropriate Christian life.
And even if we look at someone’s heart, we can’t always really discern what’s there because we look through the dirty and distorted lens of our own opinions, preconceptions, and perspectives. What we see as a flaw in someone else, may be a flaw in ourselves that we project onto them.
Fortunately, we are not judges in the Spiritual Olympics. God is.
What would the events be in this spiritual Olympics? Which events would you be able to participate in with any hope of winning a gold medal?
Start with the Beatitudes
Look at the Beatitudes in a fresh light and see what the “gold medals” are here.
Matthew 5
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth. (God’s creation-that’s a lot better than a gold medal)
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled. (Think of hungering and thirsting for righteousness as an Olympic event!)
7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God. (These are all related. They have to do with citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven)
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (There’s an Olympic event we don’t really want to participate in but we often do. Jesus knew that when this happens to us, we will be blessed.)
11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I have never thought of the Beatitudes in this way until preparing for this podcast episode.
But just imagine being poor in spirit, being meek, and hungering and thirsting for righteousness as events in the Spiritual Olympics. They each have their gold medal or prize. It usually has something to do with the kingdom of heaven.
For a description of what it means to be poor in spirit, see Episode 93, How to Be More Like Jesus, Part 2. (time stamp – 2:55)
Take a minute of two to think of each Beatitude in this light.
A poem
Here’s a poem I wrote several Olympics ago.
What Is Your Best Olympic Event?
Well, I did it again.
It is 1:30 in the morning.
I can’t believe the hours have passed so quickly.
There’s just something about the Olympics,
that beckons me.
The speed and strength,
the endurance and grace of the athletes,
call out to my own hidden hopes for excellence.
But I’ll never break a world record in the 100 meter dash, that’s for sure.
Men and women from around the world have met to participate in
breaking down barriers,
removing limitations,
individually and collectively.
This is what my heart sees and hears:
Hardships faced and overcome,
Victories and defeats,
helping to dissolve the limitations of this material world…
Now we come to my favorite events.
I wonder who will win this year’s Gold Medals in
patience
humility
forgiveness
loving your enemies…
Spiritual dedication and discipline
Just as the Olympic Gold Medal winners must dedicate hours each day for years to practicing their sports, we must practice our patience, humility, brotherly love, forgiveness, gratitude, etc. on a daily basis, week after week, month after month, year after year.
Yes, it’s hard work sometimes. There are challenges.
There are victories and there are failures—sometimes you express that perfect love to someone in a challenging situation. Other times, at least for me, I have lost my patience or pride flares up.
But the Bible encourages us to keep going forward: “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1, 2)
Focus on Christ
There’s another way to describe the prize. We fix our eyes on Jesus. We keep our focus on what we’re striving for. We’re striving to be more like Christ, to live the ideals Jesus taught us.
That’s the race we’re running. It’s to persevere, keeping our focus on Christ.
Which events in the spiritual Olympics will you win a Gold Medal in?
You could do a sweep and get the gold medal in every event. It takes perseverance. It takes discipline.
But the cool thing about the Spiritual Olympics is that they don’t just come around every four years. They’re every day. The more we discipline ourselves in these “events,” the more often we’ll excel.
So, let’s go for the Gold.
Let’s strive to follow Christ, to hunger and thirst after righteousness, to be peacemakers, to be meek.
In short, to think more like Christ, to act more like Christ, to be more like Christ.
James Early is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster and conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
Bible Quotes in this episode
1 Samuel 16:6, 7 NKJV
6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him!”
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NIV
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.
27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Philippians 3:10-14 (NLT: New Living Translation)
10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,
11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Matthew 5:3-12 NKJV
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Hebrews 12:1, 2 NIV
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
