Good Sportsmanship Award

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control… - Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

Why does it seem as though the worst teams or the weakest players always win the Good Sportsmanship Award? Did they display sportsmanship at a higher level than everyone else, or did they just have the most opportunities to exemplify a positive outlook because of all the losing? What does it mean to be a Good Sport? Is it ethical behavior? Fair play? Integrity? Demonstrating moral goodness and virtue?

How does the FOTS, goodness, relate to the standard of positive play in the sport I play or coach? With Jesus as our example and the Spirit’s indwelling power, the follower of Christ should seek to practice and play with integrity. He or she should seek to play fair, play by the rules, and respect the game and the people in their sport.

Maybe another aspect of goodness can be gleaned from Colossians 3:23, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord. You can be a good teammate by working at your sports with all your heart as if you are working directly for the Lord – not a coach, teammate, spectator, or self-glory. Most people would love to have a teammate who displays these characteristics. The challenge as athletes and coaches is to exhibit goodness even when bad things happen. Even during a terrible game or difficult season, we can display goodness.

If we’re just happy to have made the team, then we may not care that much about playing time or winning/losing. Our attitudes may change when our expectations in our sport rise and don’t get met. We expect to win and play well.

Whether we are winning or losing, we can and must seek God’s help to be growing in goodness.

Training Exercise

1. Recall a time when someone displayed a memorable act of goodness in your sport.
2. Think of a time in your athletic life when you failed to show goodness.
   How could you have turned that specific situation into a positive display of goodness?
3. What are specific areas that you would like the Spirit’s help to more consistently grow and display goodness in your sport and life?