ETHICS AND SPORTS

Most of my life I have been involved in athletic pursuits. While growing up, I was involved in school sports. During my high school years, I was known as a gym rat because I spent so much time in the gym. I think that these years of physical training have helped me today in being physically strong. I believe that I built a good physical foundation in those days. So maybe my previous athletic pursuits served some benefit.

I am still athletic today. I run 21 miles a week and lift free weights three days a week. My job has much physicality involved with it, so needless to say, I am physically active at 51 years old. I intend to keep up my exercise program for as long as I can. The more that you do, the more able you are to be able to do it. Following any exercise program takes self discipline. You must make yourself do it. Consistency is the key to an effective exercise regimen.

My purpose in maintaining my exercise regimen is for my health. I consider my exercising to be my form of health insurance. It is an inexpensive form of insurance, in my estimation. I believe that the best form of health insurance is preventative maintenance. It is better to prevent an illness rather than to treat one. As the old adage goes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Wisdom prevents disease and foolishness treats it. Sadly, most people are treatment oriented rather than prevention minded. Remember, it is easier to prevent than to treat an illness.

Organized sports of our day has been filled with the use of steroids. What needs to be understood about organized sports is that they are entertainment. Organized sports serve no other purpose. Life would go on without them. Organized sports are not necessary in any way. They are a diversion from the real world. In this regard, they are wholly fantasy. Those who live in this world are living a life of fantasy. There is nothing real world involved in organized sports.

There are those who decry the use of steroids in sports. They say that those using them are cheaters. Question, what are they cheating? After all sports are just a game and nothing more. It should surprise no one that modern day athletes use steroids even at the risk of losing their careers. The eternal principle is where your heart is, there also will be your treasure. Those using steroids are demonstrating through their actions where their hearts are. They desire to be idolized and immortalized.

Theology governs all aspects of life, even sports. The other issue is that these athletes do not believe in any absolutes. They have been taught all of their lives that absolutes do not exist and all things are relative and when they follow what they have been taught, people ask why they did that? No one says it is because they are following the dictates of their hearts. Athletics is the god of our age and the athletes are the gods. This is why they make such astronomical salaries for playing a game. This is the result of the acceptance of Greco-Roman thought over Biblical law. Let the games begin!