by Jay Therrell, President pro tempore

JULY 29, 2024

I love the Olympics. Since I was a little boy, they’ve fascinated me. I’m not sure I’ve missed an opening ceremony since 1984 when the summer games were held in Los Angeles. I was nine years old, and the Olympics came alive to me. I remember how excited the United States was to host them. “Go for the gold” was repeated everywhere. I was mesmerized watching Carl Lewis, Mary Lou Retton, Greg Louganis, and many others bring home the gold medal. 

Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

And so, this past Friday evening, my family and I were in front of the television watching the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics with great anticipation. I had read about the plans to have the parade of nations on boats traveling down the Seine River, and I was excited to see it. Yet, for me, the broadcast went off the rails early. Towards the beginning, there was a pre-recorded clip that included two men and a woman in the national library seductively going behind a closed door presumably to have a threesome. I looked at my wife and asked if I just saw what I thought I did. Indeed, I had.

I tried to hang in knowing that the French have different “sensibilities” than we do and then came a scene with a singing, beheaded Marie Antoinette. The vignette concluded with red fireworks that were supposed to be blood. I’m not a defender of Queen Marie Antoinette or her husband, King Louis XVI, but it was bizarre and off-putting to see a country celebrate the decapitating of their last queen – especially when the French are proud of having no death penalty.

Then came the final straw for me – the scene that has taken over the Internet – the depiction of the Last Supper intertwined with a fashion show, a Greek bacchanalia, and the Greek god, Dionysus. The scene included drag queens, a nearly naked blue man, and a little girl. It was, in my opinion, belittling, parodied Jesus, and promoted pedophilia. 

Immediately the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 6:7-10 came to mind:

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Paul’s wisdom from almost 2,000 years ago is still wisdom today. It has guided my thoughts on all that has transpired.

Mocking God

God doesn’t need us to defend Him. He’s infinitely powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. I’m entirely finite. God doesn’t need my meager abilities. That said, He’s worthy of our defense. For whatever reason, Jesus has chosen us, His followers, to be the conveyors of His Gospel. He could have chosen differently, but He did not. If we allow others to mock Jesus, then over time our ability to effectively share His saving love and grace gets diminished. His message isn’t diminished, but our ability to share it is. That’s a problem. Paul wrote in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Secondly, if we truly believe what we say we do, then shouldn’t we want to see Jesus glorified instead of portrayed as a drag queen involved in a bacchanalia, an almost naked man, and a child? That’s what Paul meant when he wrote, “A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” I want to sow to please the Holy Spirit. What happened in Paris on Friday did not please the Spirit. Of that, I have no doubt.

It is right to call it out. A well-known pastor and leadership author once said, “Leaders call fouls.”[i] This was a big foul. Christians around the world, including Olympic athletes and the French, decried what happened. Eventually, the organizing committee of the Paris Olympics issued a lukewarm apology. No one would ever depict Muhammad in a pornographic way to celebrate the opening of the Olympics. People who did would go into hiding in fear of their lives. Why is it okay to do this to Christians? It shouldn’t be.

Not Growing Weary in Doing Good

The rest of Paul’s admonition in Galatians 6:7-10 is instructive, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” How do we react to what happened? We respectfully call the foul and then we focus on doing good to all people by sharing the saving love and grace of Jesus with them.

What happened in the opening ceremonies has reminded us loudly and clearly that we live in a fallen and broken world. It’s a world that desperately needs Jesus. It’s a world that needs to be sitting around the real Last Supper table that was used to mock God in Paris. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that Jesus would want us to work hard to make sure everyone knows they are loved and invited to say “yes” to Him. After all, He died for the people who took part in the opening ceremonies (and their defenders) as much as He died for you and me.

The only way that will happen is if we redouble our efforts to share the Gospel, meet people at their point of need, and offer them Christ. We are God’s “plan A” to share His message, and there isn’t a “plan B.” If it’s going to happen, it’s up to us…empowered by the Holy Spirit. We’ve got a lot of work to do.

To Boycott or Not to Boycott

Should we boycott watching the Olympics? To me, that’s a personal decision. I’m not. The athletes didn’t plan the opening ceremonies or participate in the debauchery. There are also many Christian athletes from around the world competing in the games. I want to support them to be faster, higher, and stronger. They have worked for years to get to this point, and I want to cheer them on.

That said, I think choosing to boycott watching the Olympics is a fine choice. I understand the sense behind it, and I think we each must decide what we’re called to do. Sincere Christians can take different paths on this choice.

Parodying Jesus is not okay. It’s blasphemous. God will not be mocked. Depicting pedophilia is wrong. Promoting non-monogamy goes against the very fabric of Judeo-Christian marriage. Glorifying the beheading of someone is just gross. The Paris Olympics ventured far over the line. 

Now, it’s my turn…our turn. We must sow for a great harvest and not tire from sharing the saving Good News of Jesus. Let it begin with me.

All God’s love,

Jay

[i] Hybels, Bill. Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs. Zondervan 2008.