I recently heard some speakers who believe that being involved in sports is sin. I’m serious. That’s what they said in their homeschool conference. (They say it in their books as well.) Here is their reasoning: their sons were developing pride, which was not a character quality they wanted in their sons. Secondly, sports are all about winning, and causing the other team to lose. So it’s not “being a servant;” instead, it’s “being selfish.” Thirdly, you become obsessed with it as an adult. So it feeds the “wrong appetite” in your kids, since they will prioritize that above their families when they get older. (“Move over, can’t you see I’m watching the game?!”) Let me address each of these arguments one by one.
First, they said sports will cause your child to develop pride. That’s only if your kids are good at sports, which most homeschoolers aren’t. (Yes, we’re misfits. Go on and throw tomatoes if you want, but most homeschool kids seem more klutzy than public school kids who get their regular inoculation of sports.) For my own children, it develops humility and an ability to lose well. They’ve never scored a goal or a touchdown, bless their souls, no matter how hard they’ve tried. If they do, I will holler like a crazy woman and jump up and down, and hurray for them. It’s not a sin to be happy when you try to do something, and you’re happy that you did it. Like swimming, for example. Is it a sin to be proud of yourself that you’re swimming for the first time? “I did it!” they beam. Hurray for them. That’s happy. When Jesus was a toddler and walked for the first time, He was probably proud of Himself. Yet He was the most humble man that ever lived. That doesn’t mean He was mousey and felt that we wasn’t good at anything. It’s good to have confidence, so that we can share the Gospel and use our spiritual gifts. We need to know our strengths and weaknesses. This doesn’t mean that it’s a sin to have strengths, or to have confidence of a job well done.
Secondly, sports are all about winning, and causing the other team to lose. It’s not teaching them to be a servant to others, but to be selfish. Actually, to learn to work as a team, you have to serve the people on your team, letting them get the glory that you set up for them. Learning to work as a team is something that helps to understand the body of Christ (the church) and how it works. Yes, you can learn this by doing chores as a family or feeding the poor in a soup kitchen. Do all of the above, by all means, at least what God leads you to do. But in a sport, your kids are getting exercise at the same time that they’re learning a skill. Better hand-eye coordination is a plus. Also, not being stupid about sports (“Basketball? What’s that?”) is helpful for a well-rounded education. Education is more than books. It’s an understanding of life. Plus, our obese society should exercise more.
Lastly, your children will prioritize sports above their families in the future. Maybe this is true; maybe it’s not. Maybe your kids will love their families way more than sports, but also enjoy watching a game. That’s why you need to seek God each year, to ask Him whether your child should do a sport or not. Only God knows what the results will be. Then don’t proceed unless you have peace. Enjoying watching a football game is not necessarily a sin. My husband and I don’t watch sports, and I’ve already made it clear in other blog entries that I hate sports myself because I was always picked last. But I guess what I’m trying to say is, “Ask God. Only God knows what’s best for your family. Don’t grab someone else’s rules just because they’re famous or godly. The only way to be godly is to have a personal relationship with Christ and seek Him about these things. Then follow His leading.”
