Honor Among Competitors

I admit I am a confirmed big three sports fan (baseball, football and basketball) in that order, but occasionally I see something riveting in another sport.

This past Friday night, one of those moments took place. Danny Way, Bob Burnquist and Jake Brown went head to head in the Skate Big Air competition in X Games 14, and I have never seen anything close to the drama they created.

First of all, they started off a ramp five or more stories high inside the Staples Center in L.A. and then they proceeded to attempt to kill themselves on skateboards. Way took a fall that would have landed me in the emergency room.

Then, they proceeded to push the envelope all the way to the edge.

But that was not the exceptional part of the evening. On every jump, the competitors cheered the others to a new height. This wasn’t manufactured goodwill you see at times in the “major sports.” This was the real deal. When Way fell, Burnquist ditched his pre-flight routine and jumped out to check on him. When Way nailed an incredible run, Brown was interviewed and crowned Way the champion no matter how well he performed. When Burnquist nailed his gold medal winning jump, the first person to greet him with a hug was Way.

No egos. No bared teeth. Just great competition and celebration, with everyone lifting the other to greater achievement.

Don’t you wish we all treated each other in this way—in business, in faith and in life?

What if churches in our communities all worked together, cheering each other and celebrating the accomplishments of our Lord?

There’s a ton we can learn from the X Games.