'To Bless All Mankind' December 21, 2015 Issue

Fulfillment on the playing field

Liz Butterfield Wallingford

Adapted from an article published in The Christian Science Monitor, October 2, 2015.

Earlier this year, a Monitor editorial commended the International Olympic Committee for its efforts to curb “the corrupting influence of sports betting worldwide,” noting that issues such as cheating and sports fixing “have hit several professional sports in recent years” (see editorial on facing page).

What can we do about influences that might tempt us away from acting in good faith, on the playing field or elsewhere? I’ve found this statement to be a helpful guide for thinking and acting: “Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31). Understanding God to be good, divine Love, we act “to the glory of God” when we endeavor to express Godlike qualities—such as honesty and integrity—in all we do. This is where true victory lies.

On the other hand, “Success in sin,” writes Mary Baker Eddy, “is downright defeat” (Message to The Mother Church for 1900, p. 10). Elsewhere, she says: “The predisposing and exciting cause of all defeat and victory under the sun, rests on this scientific basis: that action, in obedience to God, spiritualizes man’s motives and methods, and crowns them with success; while disobedience to this divine Principle materializes human modes and consciousness, and defeats them” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, pp. 267–268).

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Fulfillment on the playing field

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