“All I know most surely about morality and obligation I owe to football”,
Created
You created me and put me together. Make me wise enough to learn what you have commanded. Psalm 119:73We are created by God and made in his image - see Genesis 1:26. It is God who gave us the ability to play sport - to run, to catch, to have good hand-eye co-ordination. It is God who made us competitive.
If God has made us with a love for sport and a desire to compete, let us do it with all our might. Let us play with thankfulness for the gift of sport, which has so enhanced our life. Let us play in a spirit of worship as we give our talents back to God. As we remember that our abilities come from God, we should realize that we have no grounds to boast or be proud of our achievements - just extra reason to be thankful.
Remember the words attributed to Eric Liddell in the film Chariots of Fire, 'God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast and when I run, I feel his pleasure'.
The second half of the verse gives us an important clue - we need wisdom. We need wisdom to understand how God sees sport and our participation in it. If sport is part of God's creation, it is important. We need never feel guilty about investing time in developing the gift that God has given us. But let us continue to pray the two concepts from verse 73 - thanks to the creator and a request for wisdom.