Cricket to us was more than play; it was a worship in the summer sun. — Edmund Blunden

Sports bring out the “crazy” in people. Nowhere else can you have a stadium full of ordinarily rational human beings go from euphoria (We scored!) to soul-crushing heartache (They scored!) in a matter of seconds. Sports are a funny manifestation of a deep truth: We absolutely crave something to worship.

To properly worship the Lord, we must make an “offering” of ourselves. It doesn’t happen instantly (which really irks us in the age of Face ID and tap-to-pay). We demand things right now. If it’s not quick and easy, we convince ourselves it must not be worth our effort.

This type of thinking makes it unusually hard to discipline our minds and bodies. But that’s what God calls us to: Disciplined minds and bodies offered up to Him in the service of worship.

We will worship something or someone. It’s how we are designed, as creatures of worship. It’s why we cheer at sports events passionately—and also scream in anguish at a loss.

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:6)

When you become a believer, your spirit becomes alive to God and dead to indwelling sin, so indwelling sin is no longer master over you. You discover this in your mind. As the Holy Spirit enlightens your mind and illuminates Scripture as you study it, you discover truths about who you are—a creature of worship designed to bring glory to God.

Knowing this—I mean really knowing it—is what helps us make the decision to offer ourselves as instruments of worship to Christ and not to sin.