The Earth is the Lord's

Throughout this summer I have been thinking about a scripture which Percival Palmer of Caribbean Sport Reach (Jamaica) quotes often when speaking with people about faith and sport. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (KJV) Percival’s point is that the whole world, including sport and the people of sport, are clearly in God’s view and a matter for His care.

Most of the people in the sport world live in total denial of the Lord’s dominion or in total rebellion toward Him. Sadly, many people in the world of sport who have a relationship with Christ seem to put it on the shelf when they walk onto the court, pitch, track or field. They have forgotten the truth of Psalm 24:1. The earth, everything in it and all those who dwell in it are the Lord’s.

It is our task to proclaim this truth to Christian and not-yet-believers as well. The denial of Christ’s rule in the world of sport, particularly among believers in Jesus, is a major source of the worst parts of sport. It distresses us when we hear of Christian players who have used performance enhancing drugs, have taken shortcuts around training rules, have taken unfair advantage of their opponents or display boorish character on the field of competition. We must remind people of this truth and its implications for their lives in sport.