Faith and Wrestling

Introduction Faith and wrestling; what’s the relationship between the two? Rather than an inquiry that has people aspiring for answers regarding its relevance or functionality, it has become a relationship that is increasingly more evident and ever flowing as one looks for it. In other words, faith and wrestling have the tendency to contain somewhat of a mutual interplay, in that wrestling appears to be a physical mirroring of what so much of us combat with spiritually. And a great number of wrestlers have found it pertinent to express their faith alongside their competitive arena.

Faith is something that we live out with a certain set of beliefs. It’s something that, if truly a part of one’s life, should have a propensity toward directing how he goes about decisions both big and small, and deeply influencing how he approaches life. Wrestling, on the other hand, is a sport. Yet for anyone who has experienced it, it’s so much more than that. It directly impacts other areas of one’s life, whether related to diet, social life, sleep regiment, etc. Furthermore, it’s a character builder. There’s the saying, “anybody can beat anybody on any given day”; and given the talent and devotion of wrestlers, I find this to be true today more than ever. Sure, there are those who have managed to break away from the pack, have found winning matches to be a matter of expectation. However, even legends fall. And we know this to be true because we’ve seen it. From Dan Gable to Cael Sanderson, Buvaisar Saitiev to Alexander Karelin, every legend of wrestling has experienced the heavy weight of defeat. And it’s how they have dealt with that defeat which speaks of their level of character. To say that wrestling is a character builder is not to suggest that all wrestlers are altogether good people. You would be hard pressed to hold such a position. However, at the very least, given the unique individualistic quality of the sport, one could say that wrestling allows the opportunity for a person to develop his character in a very real and practical way; and whether he responds in a manner that is appropriate, or even good, is up to him.

There’s something extremely inimitable about wrestling. And while its popularity may never reach the heights of, say, football or baseball, it most certainly will forever have a special place in the world of sports. There’s too much that it offers that other sports don’t seem to have the ability to offer, or at least not to the same extent. It’s all-consuming. It demands every facet of one’s competitive nature – mind, body and soul. Furthermore, to be a wrestler is to assume the title as a significant aspect of one’s identity. Despite whether you are still competing or not, it becomes a part of what makes you who you are. In other words, what makes up your identity is who you are, with “wrestler” attached to it.

In the same way, faith can be described in a similar light, only to a more significant level. For while the relationship between faith and wrestling is a thriving one, faith must take the leading role.

As alluded to above, when I speak of faith I am not speaking of a flimsy one. I am not talking about faith as a category in one’s interests or a simple belief in a supreme being. I’m talking about something that has driving force. I’m talking about an all-consuming faith, one which interferes with our desire to be the masters of our own lives, one which causes us to live a certain way, one which allows God to change who we are. I’m talking about a faith which demands sacrifice; that demands a fervent devotion to becoming a person more resembling of the person of Christ. The late Christian author, Brennan Manning, once wrote If a random sampling of one thousand American Christians were taken today, the majority would define faith as belief in the existence of God. In earlier times it did not take faith to believe that God existed - almost everybody took that for granted. Rather, faith had to do with one's relationship to God - whether one trusted in God. The difference between faith as 'belief in something that may or may not exist' and faith as 'trusting in God' is enormous. The first is a matter of the head, the second a matter of the heart. The first can leave us unchanged; the second intrinsically brings change.

While women’s wrestling has been truly surfacing in the last ten years or so, there still remains a sense of manliness to the frame of the sport. There’s something about the element of combat - whether it be for fight or game - that screams of the role of a man. However, given the context of faith and the physical mirroring that I have alluded to, I can see the role of women being compatible with that of a wrestler. I’m sure they will be able to find relevance.

The question is not whether God cares about wrestling matches. I’m certain that He does; but not in terms of who wins or loses. He cares about wrestling matches to the extent that He cares about His creation using the gifts and talents that He has suffused in them. It’s about taking what God has given you and purposing to use it to its fullest potential. It’s about stepping on the mat and putting forth the utmost degree of effort in honor of the One who provided you with the ability to step on the mat in the first place. And furthermore, when your hand is raised in victory, it’s about forgoing the glory and instead relinquishing it into the hands of the One who is truly glorious.

This subject (faith and wrestling) came about as a result of personal, theological reflection. There is a sense in which aspects of life become illuminated as a result of faith’s entry. In other words, when people embrace the God of the universe, that faith seems to reveal certain understandings that at one point were hidden somewhere in the darkness. This is not to say that people of faith are better, smarter, or that they have obtained a superior intellect per se, but it is to say that perhaps one of God’s gifts to His followers is a little light that shines upon elements hidden within the darkness; a light which reveals how He is central to this whole story of life. As C.S. Lewis once wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” I believe this rings true in relation to the experience of the Christian faith, and potentially for the subject with which I have devoted this particular book.