Sports and Spirituality

By Coach Elorm Attipoe

I was the Goalkeeper for my school, Bishop Herman College during interschool’s (Interco) football competition.

Prior to our semifinals game, our head coach informed us that, our opponent had consulted a spiritual man and manipulated the spiritual realms to favour them.

My coach instructed us to tie palm leaves around our wrists and jog in a specific formation, whiles entering the pitch, this he indicated would neutralize every force of darkness against us and help us win the game.

We followed these instruction but we lost the game by 3:0.

• Did we loose the game because of the powers of darkness?

• Did we loose the game because the palm leaves and others failed to work?

• Does God intervene in sports?

Spirituality plays a key role in sports in most parts of the world. Various forms of prayers and rituals are made before, during and after games. The ultimate aim of all these is to secure victory during games and competitions.

Christians believe the human being is made up of Body, Soul and Spirit. For the purposes of sports:

• The body does the, training and competing which is tangible.

• The soul comprises the mind, attitude and will which is unseen.

• The spirit connects the body and soul to the Supreme Being who Chritians call God. The spirit of man is also intangible. Hence his spirituality.

A sportsman/woman needs a good balance between the body, soul and spirit to be successful. Being spiritual is not only performing rituals but also obeying spiritual principles These are some spiritual principles that would ultimately bring you success when you adhere to irrespective of being a Christian or not. 

• No matter how spiritual you are, you will need a healthy body to compete. It is therefore important to strive to maintain a healthy body. Proverbs 17:22 states, a cheerful heart are good medicine but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

• The body needs to be subjected to authority. Romans 13:1. Everyone must submit himself to authority. Authority in this case could be your coach, manager or anyone who supervises you in the area of your field.

• Sportsmen/women need to invest time and resources into their act. Study, research to gain in-depth knowledge into their field of sports. 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God.

• There is power in consistency, success in the field of sports requires consistency.1corinthians 15:58, Therefore my beloved be steadfast, immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain. Whatever you find yourself doing, do it as unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:23)

God indeed intervenes in the affairs of man through His Principles. Proverbs 22:29, Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before Kings not obscure men. Skills development is done through constant practice and hard work.

The only reason why people seek other spiritual assistance is because of the crave to win at all cost,however we need to understand that failure is part of life. failing to win does not permanently make you a failure.Instead you are offered the opportunity to learn from your mistakes and aim to win with the next opportunity.

There is no short cut on the road to success. *Press On Regardless.*

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