Fighting the Good Fight
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Corinthians 9:25
Every four years, an amazing, global tradition occurs—one that some people work their entire lives for an opportunity to participate in: the Olympics! As a runner, I love the Olympics because it’s often the only time that the general populace seems to care about distance running.
The Olympics date back to New Testament times and, while the running sports of the ancient Olympics were important, the fighting sports were equally important to the people of that time. There are many references to wrestling and boxing in the Bible, so if we understand the historical context of these sports, the more deeply we can understand the Scriptures, too.
In the Apostle Paul’s day, there were three kinds of ancient Olympic combat sports:
- Boxing: A preserved sculpture might show us a lanky, fit-looking man. But if you looked closely, you’d see him with a broken nose and many scars. Ancient Olympic boxing was ruthless-- no weight classes, no boxing gloves, no rounds so that fighters could regroup, and no ring. Two boxers simply duked it out until one of them was incapacitated or they gave up.
- Wrestling: Think of two strong combatants whose goal was to put their opponent on his back three times. As in boxing, there were no rounds, and some of the matches went hours in length until one opponent took the other down to the ground.
- Pankration: In this brutal contest, absolutely anything was fair game except for biting or eye gouging. It was like mixed martial arts. One ancient Olympian, Sostratus, won this event three Olympiads in a row over a 12-year period and had the nickname “the Finger Tipper.” He would grab hold of his opponent’s hands and break one finger at a time until the opponent gave up.
When Paul wrote to his readers about fighting, these contests were their framework. More than once, he reminded them that they, too, were in a fight– and so are we. Our fight can be brutal, but Scripture also promises us victory in Jesus.
The fight against sin
Paul realizes that he’s in a fight against sin and temptation. He writes, “Therefore, let anyone who thinks he or she stands, take heed lest they fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12) as a reminder to Christians to be on guard because sin can be a devious wrestler that quickly knocks you on your back if you’re not trained against it. If we don’t guard our hearts and minds from sin and temptation, it can lead to what I call the “sinkhole effect.”
When Darla and I were living and working in Pennsylvania, before we came to Malone, we got a call from a family friend asking if we could go to New Jersey and visit their son in prison. I was confused, because the last I had heard, he was pastoring in Colorado. No one knew exactly what had happened, so I agreed to go. When I asked what happened, he explained that he was, indeed, serving as a pastor in Colorado and the church was thriving but, over time, he’d begun living a secret life online when his wife and family weren’t around. He believed he could handle the temptation on his own, but he became entangled in it.
On the outside, everything looked great, but on the inside the acid of this sin was eating away at him. He met a woman online and, without letting his family or the congregation know, he simply disappeared. He moved in with her in New Jersey and she had a baby. He was bathing the baby, but when it began acting out, he just snapped. He angrily shook the baby, causing it to go into convulsions. And to prison he went.
For this man, it was the sinkhole effect. When we try to handle our sin in isolation, there’s often complete collapse to the surprise of everyone.
We are all in a fight with sin whether we want to admit it or not, and we are vulnerable when we go it alone. Sometimes we can’t even recognize our own sin, like walking around with the tag up on the back of our shirt. We need people who love us enough to make us aware of our sin and lovingly offer help when we’re struggling. James 5:16 tells us to, “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other,” and I think there’s something powerful that happens when we realize how sin shrivels up when it’s exposed in the light. In Christian community, we can pray and devise a battle plan together.
Remember that our greatest ally is the Lord working through this gift of community. We know this because there are so many scriptural promises for God’s power to help you overcome your fight against sin and temptation:
1 Corinthians 10:13-- “No temptation has overtaken you besides what is common to mankind, and God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
Psalm 46:1-- “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
James 4:7b-- “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
2 Thessalonians 3:3-- “The Lord is faithful, he will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”
There is power in the Word of God! Take hold of one of these promises and use it to stand firm in this boxing match of life.
Additional reading: 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27