Greetings Grace Family! 
You all know that I rarely speak ‘politics.’ I put ‘politics’ in quotes to allow for clarification. I rarely speak of specific political parties or real-life politicians or endorse any particular item you will see on a ballot. I don’t have a literal political agenda. I do have a Christian agenda, however. And just as it’s been since the first century, the Gospel is countercultural. That’s because we live in a broken world filled with sinful people, myself included. This world is not Christian, and neither is our country. Scripture tells us that we (Christians) are in the world, not of the world. We are different. We are holy, set apart to reflect the way of life Jesus modeled for us. We get it right sometimes, we get it wrong other times.
So, why this subject this month? The Olympics! I’ve referenced the NFL draft and the NCAA basketball tournament, so why not keep the theme? I enjoy the Olympics and the various sports that are a part of it. I won’t watch fencing, or canoeing, or break dancing (did you know breaking is part of the 2024 Olympics?) any other time of year, but every four years? Give me some of it! It’s not just the competition that I enjoy, it is the spirit of the Olympics that I love. There is always a speech at the opening ceremony about how the Olympics bring together nations from every corner of the world in the spirit of competition and unity. It’s the unity part that I love.
The athletes of the Games spend years obsessively training to compete. There’s nothing they want more than to beat the pants off their fellow competitors! There are definitely personal rivalries and national rivalries, yet despite the unwavering desire to win and spirited competition, you almost always see at the end of a competition the athletes embrace those they beat and those they lost to regardless of nation or personal feelings. That isn’t all that common in professional sports, amateur sports, and definitely not in youth sports. All too often there is a pettiness that looks to me like, at the very least, bad sportsmanship. I rarely see that in the Olympics.
Getting back to the current culture, global and in the States, the divisiveness and vitriol has never been more pronounced. And that breaks my heart. I’m getting older so it’s possible that I’ve now entered the “Things were better in my day!”, or, “Things were never this bad!” stage of life. But there does seem to be more hatred toward our fellow humans in the public political arena and in the private world of our everyday lives. Yes, there are still more people being kind to each other than not, but sheesh, things seem less civil than they once were. Who’s to blame? I’m not here to place blame, but to remind us all of who we are and who we’re called to be.
Blessed are the peacemakers. They will know we are Christians by our love. Love your neighbor as yourself. Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God. These are just a few quotes that are hopefully familiar to you all. Scripture is filled with all kinds of encouragement to be the holy people God calls and equips us to be. It can be easy to forget these things in a world that is broken and filled with sinful people (like me!).
Please don’t think that this article means that I believe you are all part of the problem. You’re not. You are all truly wonderful, generous, and kind folks. It’s just watching fierce competitors shake hands and embrace after a competition reminds me that there is still a lot of good in our world and that we contribute to that as Christians.
Sure, we could do better, so there’s some encouragement for you also. The things we say and do matter, even the little things. But - I also want to discourage you from getting caught up in the spiral of negativity that seems so prevalent in our world. My advice? Watch the Olympics instead of the nightly news!
Yours in Christ,
Pr. Steve