I’m more of a sports player than a watcher. I get bored watching and prefer to be in the game. That being said, I’ve enjoyed following Novak Djokovic, one of the best tennis players of all time, as much for who he is as a complete person, as for who he is as an athlete. He’s said on record he’s “a Christian first and foremost.” This is a man who has his ideals in order. Plato conceived of God as the greatest goodness, truth, and beauty. God is not just powerful, but IS power itself. When we see excellence on earth it is always shades of God’s excellence. Athletes are correct to thank God, who is the ultimate, the ground of being, the cause of all, the being of all beings and par excellence of all virtue, beyond what the human mind can imagine. This is why I enjoy watching excellence in sports, especially when it also involves the proper spiritual perspective. Too often modern athletics comes across as vulgar, narcissistic, loud, and showy. Tennis helps as it is devoid of cacophonous noise. Djokovic is bucking this modern trend with his focus on his faith as part of the broader picture. Yes he’s tenacious, trains extremely hard and wins, but also has the broader picture of reality in mind.
