God's Coaching #80

God's Coaching #80

One is a game with knights, bishops, and queens, and it utilizes the brain for strategy. The other is a brutal sport with hooks, uppercuts, and jabs, and it uses the brain as a punching bag. Welcome to the wacky world of chess boxing. Just when you thought you had heard about every weird sport out there, one more pops up. Chess boxing combines—you guessed it—the thinking game of chess and the fighting sport of boxing.

This isn’t just some silly weekend invention by two guys with nothing better to do. The sport, which held its first match in the Netherlands in 2003, has an official governing body, the World Chess Boxing Organization (WCBO), and is popular in Europe. In February 2010, the first North American chess-boxing club started in Los Angeles. Chess boxers alternate four-minute rounds of chess with three-minute boxing rounds, including a one-minute break in between. A fight can last up to 11 rounds. Chess boxers can win by knockout or by checkmate. The competition also concludes if a player exceeds the chess time limit or if the referee decides the fight has to be stopped. If the chess portion ends in a tie, boxing points determine the winner. If the boxing portion ends in a draw, the player who had black on the chessboard wins.

What’s the Score?

Somehow, the founders of the WCBO managed to successfully combine two totally different activities into one sport. But there are certain things that don’t mix well. Take, for instance, Christians and unbelievers. In 2 Corinthians 6, the apostle Paul warns Christians to avoid teaming up with unbelievers. Now, let’s be clear: This doesn’t mean you’re never allowed to talk with non-Christians or be friends with them. And it certainly doesn’t give you the right to be mean or arrogant, as if you are better than somebody else.

But as Christians, we are called to be different from those around us. God wants us to act, speak, and think differently than those who don’t trust in him. Non-Christians aren’t concerned about becoming more like Jesus. If you hang out too much with unbelievers, they will eventually influence you in ungodly ways. By all means, pray for unbelievers and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with them. Influence them for good, but don’t allow them to influence you for bad.

On the Ball

Non-Christians aren’t concerned about becoming more like Jesus. As a Christian, you should make it your main goal to grow more and more like Jesus. Jesus helped, ate with, prayed for, and shared the truth of God with people who didn’t know him. We should follow that example. Think of ways you can influence those around you for good, but be careful not to let yourself be influenced for the bad.

Coach’s Comment

Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14