Salt and Light
Competitive sports often times bring out the best and worst in us. John Wooden (greatest coach ever in my
opinion) was adamant that you should never be able to tell if his team won or lost based on the emotions of
his players. Win by 20 or lose by 20, how the players conducted themselves should be the same. As a
spectator, I can learn a lot from this principle.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is
no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of
the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a
bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let
your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:13-16
As sports fans, when we conduct ourselves with self-control and grace in a tough loss, our light shines bright,
since we know only through the Holy Spirit’s power can this be achieved. When we bark at officials, talk
poorly about coaches, or lay blame to others, we’ve lost our saltiness and given no reason for people to see
Christ. When we win with humility, we’ve given people a reason to ask “what’s different?” When we win
with arrogance, we’ve given people further reason to question the authenticity of what we profess to
believe.
I think this issue transcends conduct and behavior management. The root of all of this is a matter of the
heart - for fans, coaches and players alike, it is a pride issue. We believe we’ve been wronged and demand
justice when an official makes a bad call. When a play is called that doesn’t work, we rip the coach from the
stands for not being as smart as we are.
I’ve learned a lot over the years watching myself as a coach, dad and fan. I wish I can say that I’ve done it all
right. I haven’t… not even close. I still let my emotions get the best of me today, but I’ve been told by a
close circle of friends (including my wife) the trajectory is good. I’ve improved over the years in this area of
“salt and light” due to two main factors – intentionality and accountability.
By intentionality I mean a concerted effort to recognize we struggle in being “salt and light” fans, pray
through this issue and ask the Lord to give us His eyes and heart on this topic, and then intend to be a great
witness at the next game. On game day, pray and ask our spouses and/or our friends to hold us
accountable. Peer accountability is ultimately where we will make great progress. Onsite game
administrators can remind us of our mission in the middle of a game or remove us from contests if needed,
but that begs the question of what kind of testimony do we have if we have to be removed from athletic
contests?
As a community of Christ followers, we should encourage each other to be salt and light at all times, even in
(especially in) athletic contests. This is a safe community where tapping the dad (or mom) next to us in the
stands and saying “calm down” is permissible. We should be able to remind ourselves to keep the big thing
the big thing and not be offended when a friend gives us of such, using loving accountability.
The other thing I’m often reminded of is the power of words. These scriptures are incredibly convicting to
me:
“But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart” Matthew 15:18
“But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your
mouth” Colossians 3:8
“Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin” Proverbs
13:3
How we choose to handle adversity by our actions and the words we use is everything. We can’t get back
words that have left our mouths. Think of the power of our testimony, the saltiness and light of our being, if
folks were to hear only positive comments and encouragement in athletic contests , or at minimum, selfcontrol when things don’t go our way. That is a monumental goal, but one worthy of our calling as
believers.
Our athletic department mission of redeeming sports for Christ is an equally monumental goal and task.
Let’s all re-commit as fans and spectators to our charter. Let’s agree that we need a heart change and let’s
pray and act on our convictions. Allow peer accountability to sharpen each of us (Proverbs 27:17) as fans.
Let’s be the Christian body that is salt and is light. Let’s be the school that people want to be a part of
because of what they see in us as fans.
Together!
Coach B
Beck Brydon
Director of Athletics
Regents School of Austin
March 26, 2015