Taste of Freedom - Olympic ceremony part 3

Sexual limitless-ness was a flavour liberally poured over the banquet of the Olympic opening ceremony. The message: we will be happy and united when everyone is free to fulfill their every desire. 

It seemed no dish at the banquet was spared this special sauce. Characters representing the embrace of all manner of sexual expression were throughout. The promise is that if the stifling limitations imposed by religion can be removed, life will taste all the sweeter.

Limits on liberty, however, are oppressive. Just because you don't like a salted caramel on your ice cream, why would you keep someone who does from slathering it on theirs?

Photo by Kobby Mendez on Unsplash

A hundred years ago, however, an athlete at another Olympic Games in Paris was willing to give up dessert altogether. It must have looked crazy to the outsider, but at the 1924 Olympic Games a Scottish athlete ended up having his cake and eating it too.

Paris 1924 & Paris 2024

Having qualified for his first Olympic games in Paris 1924, Eric Liddel athlete chose not to run in his event. He was a 100m specialist, and was the favourite to win gold. Why on earth would he choose not to run? Not because of the opening ceremony, but because the heats for the 400m were scheduled on a Sunday. And Liddel was convinced that it would be dishonouring his God to participate.

Can you imagine a modern athlete even considering this as an option? Even the most ardent Christian? Firstly, it seems like such an arbitrary limitation. What could possibly be wrong with running in a heat on a Sunday? It wouldn't have hurt anyone if he had! 

For Liddel, however, it was simple. He loved running. But he loved God more.

And so he missed his event. The favourite for the gold medal chose not to run. And he was happy about it. It almost seems like the ultimate example of why limiting yourself for God's sake is foolish! And yet, as Tim Costello writes in the guardian:

The plot had a remarkable twist. Eric stayed true to his perceived duty and pulled out of the heats. But then at the last moment his Olympic team entered him in the 400m, not his event nor one for which he had trained. He claimed gold in a world record time of 47.6 seconds. He had fulfilled the duty he felt to a higher calling, willing to sacrifice his specialist event with all his training, but remarkably managed to win anyway.

With God, it can be true that less, is more. Trusting God and exercising restraint, can taste even sweeter than putting on every flavour of syrup you can think of.