Sports Bilong Bifor and Hao Pipol Mekhae Long Wei for Win

“EVRI man wea tekpart long wanfala game hem kontrolem hemseleva long evri samting.” “Sapos eniwan tekpart . . . long olketa game, hem no kasem reward sapos hem no tekpart followim olketa rul.”—1 Corinthians 9:25; 2 Timothy 2:5.

Olketa sports game bifor wea Paul storyim hem barava important samting long pipol bilong Greece. Wanem nao history talem abaotem olketa sports hia and hao olketa affectim pipol?

No longtaem go nomoa, wanfala show abaotem olketa sports game bilong Greece bifor, Nike—Il gioco e la vittoria (“Nike—Datfala Game and Wei for Win”) kamap long Colosseum long Rome.a Disfala show givim samfala ansa for datfala kwestin and mekem iumi tingting moa abaotem wei wea wanfala Christian mas ting long sports.

Important Samting From Bifor Kam

Greece no first kantri for duim sports. Nomata olsem, long samting olsem mek-eit century B.C.E., Greek man for raetem poem, Homer, storyim pipol bilong Greece olsem pipol wea mekhae tumas long bignem and wei for win, wea wei for insaed army and sports hem samting olketa apim tumas. Datfala show explainim hao olketa first Greek festival start olsem olketa festival saed long religion for honorim olketa god long funeral bilong olketa bigman. Olsem example, datfala raeting bilong Homer wea garem nem Iliad, wea hem barava old Greek raeting, hem storyim wanfala taem wea olketa soldia wea garem hae position, wea olketa fren bilong Achilles, olketa stop faet long funeral bilong Patroclus and duim boxing, wrestling, torowem discus and javelin, and resis long olketa chariot for pruvim strong bilong olketa.

Gogo olketa kaen festival olsem kamap evriwea long Greece. Buk bilong datfala show sei: “Olketa festival hia givim chance for Greek pipol showimaot respect long olketa god bilong olketa long wei for rest lelebet from wei for raoa olowe wea savve raf tumas, and tanem interest bilong olketa for laek winim narawan go long samting wea peaceful bat wea still mekem olketa feel olsem olketa win: hem nao wei for duim sports.”

Pipol from olketa difren taon kam tugeta evritaem and duim kaen wei for showimaot respect long olketa god thru long sports. Gogo, fofala festival—Olympic and Nemean, wea honorim Zeus, and Pythian and Isthmian wea honorim Apollo and Poseidon—kamap barava important and olketa kamap festival bilong evri Greek pipol. Diswan minim eniwan wea stap long eni ples wea anda long rul bilong Greece savve tekpart long hem. Part long olketa festival olsem hem wei for sakrifaes and prea. Olketa honorim tu olketa god thru long olketa game saed long sports or art.

Barava old and important festival olsem nao hem datwan wea kamap evri mek-foa year long Olympia for honorim god Zeus, wea hem start long 776 B.C.E. Mek-tu important wan hem Pythian festival. Olketa savve celebratem disfala fesitaval long Delphi ples wea important profet bilong Apollo hem stap long hem bifor. Bat for honorim Apollo, god wea sapotim poetry and music, olketa mekhae long wei for singsing and dance.

Olketa Samting wea Happen

Taem iumi markem witim sports distaem, sports olketa pleim no staka, and olketa man nomoa tekpart. Sports olketa pleim long Olympics bifor hem no winim tenfala. Long datfala show long Colosseum man savve lukim olketa statue, piksa wea olketa karvem, mosaic piksa, and painting long olketa clay pot for putim flaoa insaed wea showimaot samfala long olketa sports hia.

Olketa duim thrifala kaen resis—raonem stadium, wea samting olsem 200 meter; tufala taem raonem stadium, wea olsem 400 meter; and longfala resis bilong 4,500 meter. Olketa wea tekpart ranran and exercise olketa full naked. Olketa wea tekpart long Pentathlon mas trae winim narawan long faevfala samting: ranran, long jamp, discus, javelin, and wrestling. Olketa nara game hem boxing and pancratium, wea diswan hem “barava raf game wea man hem boxing and no werem boxing glove and long semtaem duim wrestling tu.” Nara game hem chariot resis wea hem winim 1,600 meter. Olketa kaen chariot wea open, wea garem smol wheel and tu or fofala horse wea pullim.

Boxing hem barava raf and samfala taem man dae. Olketa wea duim boxing werem long hand strongfala leather wea garem olketa metal samting long hem. Dastawe nao wanfala boxer wea nem bilong hem Stratofonte no luksavve long feis bilong hemseleva long mirror bihaen hem boxing for fofala hour. Olketa statue from bifor and samfala piksa showim feis bilong man wea duim boxing wea garekil nogud.

Long wrestling, rul hem for olketa wea faet savve kasholem top part bilong body nomoa, and first wan wea holem narawan long graon thrifala taem nao win. Bat long pancratium, no eni rul stap. Olketa savve kikim and punchim man, and twistim join bilong bon. Only tambu hem wei for aotem eye, skrasem and baetem man. Goal bilong olketa hem for holem narawan long graon and forcem hem for sarenda. Samfala ting long diswan olsem “best samting for lukim long full Olympia.”

Olketa sei famous pancratium game bilong bifor hem long Olympic final bilong 564 B.C.E. Nomata Arrhachion klosap dae from man wea hem faetem skwisim nek bilong hem, Arrhachion mekem toe bilong datfala man for miss. Diswan mekem hem pain tumas so man hia sarenda, bat long semtaem Arrhachion hem dae tu. Olketa judge sei Arrhachion wea dae nao win!

Resis bilong chariot hem wan wea pipol tinghae tumas long hem and wea rich pipol laekem tumas from wan wea win hem no draeva bat man wea ownim chariot and olketa horse. Barava important part bilong disfala resis hem long start, taem olketa chariot mas ran followim laen bilong olketa, and moa hard nao wei wea olketa mas tan raon long post long tufala end. Sapos man missim laen or mek mistek, olketa accident savve happen wea just switim go moa olketa wea lukluk.

Datfala Prize

Paul hem sei: “Evriwan wea insaed long resis ranran, bat wanfala nomoa kasem prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24) For win nomoa main samting. No eni prize for mek-tu or mek-thri. Disfala toktok stap long show long Colosseum: “Win, ‘Nike,’ hem nao main goal bilong olketa wea tekpart. Win nomoa olketa laekem bikos diswan nomoa really showimaot hu nao datfala man, saed long body and fasin, and rewardim olketa long homples bilong hem.” Wanfala toktok from raeting bilong Homer talem disfala tingting long short wei: “Mi lane for win evritaem.”

Wan wea win long Panhellenic Games kasem prize wea garem tokpiksa mining nomoa—wanfala crown olketa wakem from leaf. Paul kolem diswan “crown wea savve rotten.” (1 Corinthians 9:25) Nomata olsem, disfala prize garem bigfala mining. Hem piksarem paoa bilong nature wea givim paoa bilong hem long man wea win. Win, wea man iusim full strong for aftarem, hem minim hem kasem favor from olketa god. Datfala show showimaot idea bilong pipol wea wakem olketa statue and painting abaotem hao nao lukluk bilong Nike, datfala Greek woman god bilong wei for win wea garem wing, taem hem givim crown long man wea win. For win long Olympia hem goal bilong evri sportsman.

Olketa wakem olympic crown from olive leaf—Isthmian iusim pine, Pythian iusim laurel, Nemean iusim wild celery. Olketa wea organizem samfala nara game offerim selen or olketa nara prize for switim olketa best sportsman for tekpart. Datfala show showim samfala pot wea hem prize bilong datfala Panathenaic Games long Athens for honorim woman god Athena. Olketa savve putim expensive Attic oil insaed olketa pot hia. Long saed bilong wanfala pot hem garem piksa bilong datfala woman god and garem toktok “prize for olketa sportsman long Athena.” Narasaed garem drawing bilong wankaen game, luk olsem game wea man win long hem.

Olketa sportsman wea win kasem bignem long homples bilong olketa and nomata olketa Greek taon bilong olketa tu kasem bignem. Olketa sportsman hia go bak hom and olketa celebratem win witim wei for march witim evriwan long there. Olketa putim statue for honorim olketa wea datwan hem for sei thankiu long olketa god—wanfala honor wea man nating no savve kasem—and pipol for raetem poem sing abaotem strong bilong olketa. Olketa wea win savve kasem best ples long taem bilong olketa pablik hipap and kasem selen from gavman.

Olketa Gymnasium and Sportsman

Olketa ting long sports olsem important training bilong wanfala soldia. Evri Greek taon garem gymnasium, ples wea olketa young man duim body training and tu for lane saed long savve and spiritual saed. Olketa arrangem olketa building bilong gymnasium raonem olketa open area for exercise, wea garem olketa nara area raonem wea kava wea olketa iusim olsem library and classrum. From olketa savve spendem taem for education winim wei for waka, olketa young boy wea kam from rich famili nao savve gogo evritaem long kaen ples olsem. Long ples hia, olketa man stap for givim sportsman barava bigfala training, wea insaed diswan hem for kontrolem kaikai bilong olketa and for mek sure olketa no duim sex.

Long datfala show, olketa statue showim lukluk bilong olketa sportsman bifor. Staka long olketa statue hia kam from taem bilong rul bilong Rome wea copyim olketa really wan from Greece bifor. From pipol long Greece bifor ting long perfect body olsem samting wea join witim perfect fasin, wea long tingting bilong olketa, hae class pipol nomoa garem, body bilong statue hia wea luk olsem perfect showimaot wanfala hae standard for man trae kasem. Pipol bilong Rome tinghae long olketa statue hia olsem samting wea luk naes tumas, wea staka long olketa decoratem olketa stadium, ples for swim, haos bilong rich pipol, and olketa palace.

Pipol long Rome laek tumas for lukim raf fasin, so boxing, wrestling, and pancratium nao barava kasem mind bilong staka. Pipol bilong Rome ting long diskaen game, no olsem wei for winim narawan for showimaot hao gud nao wanfala sportsman, bat olsem hapitaem nomoa. Olketa lusim nao datfala firstfala goal bilong sports, hem nao for sports kamap part bilong education for wanfala spesol grup bilong olketa soldia-sportsman. Pipol bilong Rome changem olketa Greek game. Olketa mekem sports olsem healthy exercise bifor olketa swim or olketa game wea pipol kam for lukim wea olketa low class pipol duim, olsem sports olketa gladiator duim.

Olketa Christian and Sports

From olketa game hia join witim religion, hem wanfala reason for olketa Christian long first century stap klia long olketa, bikos “hao nao temple bilong God savve join witim olketa idol?” (2 Corinthians 6:14, 16) Waswe long olketa sports distaem?

Hem tru, olketa sports distaem no givim honor long olketa heathen god. Bat olsem long bifor, wei wea pipol tinghae tumas long sports mekem hem kamap olsem religion bilong olketa. And tu, olsem olketa reportim insaed olketa year wea go pas, samfala sportsman willing for tekem drug for mekem olketa moa strong and for win, nomata diswan putim health and laef bilong olketa tu long danger.

For olketa Christian, wei for win long physical saed hem helpem olketa lelebet nomoa. Olketa spiritual fasin bilong “secret man bilong heart” nao samting wea luk naes long eye bilong God. (1 Peter 3:3, 4) Iumi luksavve no evri sportsman distaem garem wei for barava laek win, bat staka garem. Waswe, wei for kaban witim olketa helpem iumi for followim encouragement from Bible for ‘no duim eni samting thru long wei for raoa, or for tinghae long seleva, bat for garem hambol mind?’ Or waswe, bae kaen wei for kaban olsem savve lead go long “fasin for heit, faet, jealous fasin, fasin for kros, raoa, and fasin for divaed”?—Philippians 2:3; Galatians 5:19-21.

Staka sports distaem wea man holem narawan savve lead go long raf fasin. Eniwan wea interest long kaen sports olsem shud rememberim toktok bilong Psalm 11:5: “Jehovah seleva hem lukluk gud long raeteous man and wicked man tu, and soul bilong Hem barava heitim eniwan wea lovem raf fasin.”

Taem man no ova tumas witim exercise datwan savve kamap samting for enjoyim, and aposol Paul tu talem hao “wei for trainim body hem helpem iu lelebet.” (1 Timothy 4:7-10) Bat, taem hem tok abaotem olketa game bilong Greece, Paul storyim olsem tokpiksa for showim why fasin for kontrolem seleva and fasin for go ahed strong hem important for olketa Christian. Goal wea Paul trae for kasem, winim eni nara samting, hem datfala “crown” bilong laef olowe wea God givim. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 1 Timothy 6:12) Long diswan, hem showim iumi example for followim.

[Footnote]

[Box/Olketa Piksa long page 31]

Bihaen Boxing Faet

Disfala piksa from mek-foa century B.C.E. showim barava nogud samting wea happen long man wea boxing long taem bifor. Raeting wea olketa wea organizem show raetem for disfala piksa sei, “ Olketa mekhae long wei wea tufala man wea duim boxing trae for win long datfala faet taem tufala givim ‘garekil for garekil’ olsem gud example.” “Olketa garekil from faet wea just finis bae join go long olketa from faet bifor.”

[Piksa long page 29]

Chariot resis hem sports wea pipol bifor barava tinghae long hem

[Piksa long page 30]

Olketa artist showim Nike, datfala Greek woman god bilong wei for win wea garem wing, olsem hem givim crown long man wea win