Olympic gods

In 1 Corinthians 9:25, the Apostle Paul compares the fading crown of the athletes in his day with the imperishable crowns that believers receive in eternal life. The original readers of this letter knew exactly what he was referring to.

The city of Corinth was the location of the Isthmian Games, which were held the year before and the year after the Olympic Games in that era. The "perishable crown" was a wreath made of celery, of all things, which of course would fade away very quickly. That was the only tangible reward - no gold medal, no endorsement contract. A celery wreath. The athletes would train for months to compete at the highest levels, and one in each sport would earn this wreath that would fade and wither within days.

The Games were infused with paganism. Before each event, the athletes would dedicate themselves to the gods, or to a specific god, to seek their favor and give them honor.

Today, as we watch the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, I have been struck by how much more brazen athletes are becoming about praising themselves and lifting themselves up. Gone is the ethic of competing for country and the humility of amateur athletes. Now, there is no shame in grandstanding and applauding oneself.

In effect, the self-glorifying athletes are replacing the pagans gods with themselves. It's really no different - except that the pagan god they honor with their sport is not a mythical character. Rather, it is a creating being. Although different in form, the end result is basically the same.

Paul says in the previous verse of 1 Cor 9, "Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win. " But not for a perishable wreath or for one's own glory. Rather, for the crown that never fades - the glory of the Lord shared with us.

Pray for the Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics start on August 8, and for just over two weeks, the world's attention will be on China, this year's host. And that is a call for prayer!

It is no secret that the Chinese government has been using it's tremendous power to create a much better impression of their society than reality warrants. Never a government for respecting individual rights, they have been particularly overbearing in the months leading up to the opening ceremony. From restricting traffic to help ease the thick pollution problem to navigating the Olympic Torch Relay to avoid as many protests as possible to clamping down on Tibetan protesters, they have tried to manage every aspect of life to give the appearance that all is well in China.

Worse than the social facade they are creating, their well-documented escalation of persecuting Christians is a losing effort to give the conflicting impressions that China is both tolerant of all religions and that there are very few Christians in China. Both statements are false, and the government has taken on the futile task of trying to make us believe both are true. The more evangelistic Chinese pastors have been harassed and arrested like never before. Literature distribution around Olympic venues is strictly forbidden. Evangelism will most likely be met with swift rebukes.

So ... pray! It is precisely in times like this that people discover the Gospel cannot be stopped. Pray as the Lord would direct your heart. Consider the following prayer needs every day of the Olympics:

• The persecution of Christians in China.
• The Chinese believers who are committed to sharing the Gospel with as many Olympic visitors as possible.
• Missionaries and other foreign workers who are gathering in China to share the Gospel.
• Believing athletes to keep their testimony and to use their unique access as another avenue of sharing the Gospel.
• For the oppression of the government to be broken by God's power.
• For the church in China (the largest in the world, by the way!) to prosper and flourish no matter what the government does.
  

The Olympics are games. Persecution is no game. The Gospel is no game. We can be the strongest competitors of the Olympics if we commit to pray. I invite you to remind each other to pray during those two weeks. Every time you hear the Olympic theme, see the 5 Ring emblem, see a medal count, or see an event, be reminded to pray. Be more enthusiastic about the Church winning than the U.S. winning.

P.S. You can order a free "Pray for China" wristband from Voice of the Martyrs at: http://etools.780net.com/a/vomso/bg_vomso_CTI-China-Prayer-Bands_317.html .