Adult Sports: Does God Approve?

“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things” (1 Cor 13:11).

Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians concerning spiritual maturity has broad application, including how Believers steward their time, energy, and affections. Growing into Christian adulthood necessarily involves laying aside pursuits that are childish, time-consuming, and spiritually unproductive—especially those that do nothing to advance God’s kingdom or fail to “redeem the time” (Eph 5:16).

Neither Scripture nor church history indicate that the first-century Church participated in adult sporting competitions. This absence is not accidental. The origins of organized sport are inseparably tied to pagan worship, idolatry, and moral corruption. In ancient Greece, for instance, athletic competitions—most notably the Olympic Games—were religious events. Sacrifices were offered to Zeus and other gods, competitors performed in the nude, and the atmosphere encouraged sensuality, pride, and excess.

As historical sources attest, the gymnasium functioned not merely as an athletic facility but as a center of pagan culture, eroticism, and religious devotion. Given this context, it is no surprise that early Christians deliberately distanced themselves from sporting arenas. Tertullian, writing to Christian converts in De Spectaculis, explicitly condemned attendance at such events, identifying them as idolatrous, passion-stirring, and incompatible with the spirit of Christ.

While modern sports no longer include overt pagan sacrifices or widespread nudity (though even that distinction is increasingly eroding), the underlying issues remain. Adult sports still demand enormous amounts of time, emotional investment, and financial resources. For many Christians, hours spent watching or playing sports come at the direct expense of prayer, Scripture reading, fellowship, evangelism, and obedience to the Great Commission (Mat 28:19–20). Scripture warns us plainly: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love for the Father is not in them ” (1 Jn 2:15).

Moreover, sport is inherently competitive. Its aim is victory, superiority, and recognition—placing oneself above another. This spirit stands in sharp contrast to Christ’s call to humility, meekness, and servanthood: “But many that are first shall be last; and the last first… he that is greatest among you shall be your servant… learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Mk 10:31; Mat 23:11; Mat 11:29). Scripture repeatedly warns against self-exaltation and vainglory, commanding believers to “let nothing be done through strife or vainglory” and to esteem others better than themselves (Phil 2:3). Rather than striving to outdo one another, Christians are called to pursue peace, edification, and mutual care: “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another” (Rom 14:19). God’s Word also instructs us to bear with the weak and maintain a posture of patience and charity, not triumphalism or domination: “support the weak, be patient toward all men” (1 Thes 5:14; cf. Gal 6:2). Given all of this, how can adults meaningfully engage in competitive sports without compromising these New Testament virtues?

There is also the troubling issue of money. Churches collectively spend millions constructing gyms and sports facilities under the banner of “outreach.” Yet the New Testament pattern for evangelism is never entertainment-driven. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, not by attractional programs (Rom 10:17). When entertainment becomes the hook, converts inevitably drift away once something more exciting appears.

In light of these considerations, sports are best understood as fitting for children—or for parents engaging in play for the sake of their children’s development and pleasure. For spiritually mature Believers, however, there are far weightier and more eternal matters demanding our attention and devotion, and sporting matches should never even be a consideration. With souls at stake and time exceedingly short, adult sports should never be allowed to distract us from wholehearted service to Christ (1 Cor 7:29–31).