Olympic ethics—for the good of all

Viewers around the world may watch the 2006 Winter Olympic games in Torino, Italy, with a different perspective than ever before. Not only will the athletic abilities of the participants be on display; the ethics of each individual athlete, judge, and coach will be closely scrutinized, too.

You may remember that four years ago, Canadian freestyle pairs skaters Jamie Salé and David Pelletier were initially awarded the silver medal in competition, despite a clean performance, while a Russian pair, who didn’t skate quite as well, received the gold. A French judge later admitted she’d been under pressure to favor the Russians in exchange for another judge’s influence on scoring other skating events. It was quite a scandal.

As the investigation progressed and the injustice was uncovered, justice did prevail. Both skating pairs were finally awarded gold medals.

Most of us have felt victimized by—and even shed tears over—injustice at some point. You may be feeling the weight of injustice right now. Yet there is something that can wipe that burden out of your life.

There is a law of God that renders the seeming power of injustice impotent. This law of God is described in the Bible: “…all things work together for good to them that love God….”

Whether injustice appears in the form of figure skating judges’ controversial decisions or in more insidious forms, yielding to God’s law brings us a very real blessing. Instead of dragging us down, the injustice serves as a springboard to higher and better opportunities to love, accomplish more, and even help the world.

The first time I learned how this law works, I was a freshman in high school. My favorite sport was baseball. I played it all the time and was constantly bothering my friends to practice with me. I tried out for high-school baseball, and to my great joy, I made the team. I’ll never forget standing with my teammates as our coach handed out the uniforms. It was quite a moment.

A few days before our first game, one of my former Little League coaches called and asked if I would do a demonstration for some kids. As I was teaching the group, my hand was hit by a thrown ball and one of my fingers was injured.

When my high-school baseball coach saw my finger he said, “From the looks of that injury I don’t think you'll be able to help our team this season. Turn in your uniform and I’ll give it to a player who will be able to perform.”

As I watched my former teammates leave on the bus for their first game, I felt so bad. The injustice of it all really threw me. I'd been trying to help some children and now I was off the team. It didn’t seem fair. I guess I understood why the coach made this decision, but I didn’t like it at all.

Perhaps because I was depressed, I prayed. I remember reading in the Bible about a man who was confronted with injustice after injustice, even though he was always trying to help people. His name was Joseph. After his own brothers threw him into a pit to get rid of him, some people found him and made him a slave.

Even as a slave, Joseph showed that he was a good and honest man and he earned the trust of his master. I remember being surprised to read that he even helped people while he was in captivity. One day, when the wife of his captor pressured him to act immorally, he refused. She got mad and unjustly accused him of trying to force himself on her. As a result, he was thrown into prison. It seemed like he was penalized for being good and behaving morally.

A few years later, a man who’d been in jail with Joseph was serving the king of Egypt. He told the king about Joseph’s amazing ability to interpret the meaning of dreams. It seems to me that Joseph’s perception was a direct result of his strong spiritual sense. And there’s a direct correlation between spiritual sense and goodness. So when the king needed help, he turned to Joseph. Ultimately, Joseph was put in a position of power second only to the king. In this post, he was able to help the people of Egypt survive a famine that lasted many years.

I was impressed to see how God’s law of good had operated in Joseph’s life. Each instance of injustice only served to move Joseph forward. All things worked together for good, despite injustice and ethical improprieties. Why? Because Joseph loved God, good.

I could see how this same law applied to me. I realized that my love for God made me subject to His law of good, and not to injustice.

A few days later, as the result of prayer, I’m happy to say that my finger was healed. So I tried out for—and made—a semi-pro baseball team. We traveled around the state and I played in many more games than I would have on a high-school team. Just like Joseph, I’d made a leap forward.

Mary Baker Eddy, who founded the magazines published by The Christian Science Publishing Society, of which spirituality.com is a part, wrote, “My faith in God and in His followers rests in the fact that He is infinite good, and that He gives His followers opportunity to use their hidden virtues, to put into practice the power which lies concealed in the calm and which storms awaken to vigor and to victory” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 204 ).

Olympic games touched by this kind of vigor and victory will be a blessing to the world. I look forward to watching the athletes, coaches, and judges as they express the highest in ethics, justice, and ability. They each have a wonderful opportunity to put on display the goodness and power of God.

The rewards of ethical behavior:

Science and Health
115:26  
239:7

King James Bible
Gen. 39:7-9  
Gen. 41:9-14  
Rom. 8:28