July 22, 2002  

"TENNIS ANYONE?"

John McEnroe was one of the dominant professional tennis players of the early 1990s. In addition to his obvious skill at the sport, McEnroe also developed a reputation as "Tennis' Bad Boy" for his frequent violent outbursts on the court. In a traditionally genteel sport, his verbal abuse against umpires, loud expressions of profanity, and angry responses to fans and other players seemed jarringly out of place. More and more, tennis fans loved to hate him.

Now, mellowed in his forties, McEnroe is a teaching pro and coach of the U.S. Davis Cup Team. He is trying to project an image of wholesomeness and good-sportsmanship.

In a recent interview on a television sports program, McEnroe was asked about the predictable volatility of his playing days. Part of his response to the question was this: "Why didn't somebody go out there and toss me?" In saying this, he was demonstrating how little he's learned, in spite of his more moderate appearance. Rather than taking responsibility for his actions, he is still blaming others for not controlling him. His lack of self-control was the real issue, and he apparently still doesn't see this.

Self-control is lifted up as an important element of morality in both the Old and New Testament. We all experience passions that are potentially destructive. God expects us to harness these and use them to do his will. This means going against our own nature and denying or postponing some of our desires. Self-control is part of the fabric of the gospel, according to the Apostle Paul (Acts 24:25). It is an essential quality in leaders of a Christian church (1 Timothy 3:2, 11).

Paul actually uses athletics as an example of self-control in his letter to the Corinthians:
"Athletes exercise self-control in all things . . . ." (1 Corinthians 9:25)
Imagine what a tennis player John McEnroe could have been if he had been able to add self-control to his many gifts!
But Paul goes on from the example of athletics to a more important issue:
". . . they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one."
For us as believers the stakes are much higher. In McEnroe's case, lack of self-control could "only" cost him millions of dollars. In our case, the cost could have eternal consequences.

How many of us may lose an "imperishable wreath" because we have not been able to say No! to some passing pleasure? In the Day of Judgment, I can't imagine standing before God with the defense "Somebody should have stopped me."

–Pastor George VanAlstine