I love to see Christian faith lived out in all areas of life. But as a fan and former athlete, I especially appreciate seeing it in sports.  Sadly, the pendulum often swings in two extreme directions when it comes to opinions on faith in sports:

Extreme 1. If you want to compete well, don’t bring your faith to the field of play. Faith has no place in sports because it makes you weak and less competitive.

Extreme 2. Sports don’t have a place in the life of a Christian. They are a waste of time at best, and at worse, idolatry.

A third, and I believe, more faithful approach, is to see sports as we should see all of life, as an opportunity to glorify God. Christian virtues of humility, servanthood, and selflessness make for GREAT ATHLETES, TEAM MATES and COACHES. The deeper your relationship with Christ, the better you are at your sport! Christians should use the gifts and abilities God has given them, FOR HIM. Play hard, play fair, and play thankful–FOR HIS GLORY.

You may or may not be aware of the origin of the great sport of basketball. Itt was invented with the intent of reaching and molding young men for Christ. Check out this post:

How a Christian invented basketball and made it an evangelization tool 

Food for thought: What abilities or interests do you have in common with others that might be an avenue to influence and reach people with the life-changing message of the gospel of Jesus Christ?