# Ellen White on Sports and Idolatry Ellen White directly addressed competitive sports like baseball, bicycle racing, cricket, and similar activities, calling them "a species of idolatry" (
SpTEd 87.1). She placed these recreational pursuits in the same category as liquor-drinking, smoking, gambling, horse-racing, and theater-going—all forms of idol worship that draw people away from God and useful service. ## The Vision of Competitive Sports In a significant vision, Ellen White was shown the spiritual danger of these activities. Her Guide told her: "Look ye, and behold the idolatry of My people, to whom I have been speaking, rising up early, and presenting to them their dangers. I looked that they should bring forth fruit" (
8T 52.1). She specifically witnessed bicycle racing and baseball games where "there was a spirit of strife and contention among them as to which should be the greatest" (
8T 52.1).
Her Guide declared plainly: "These things are an offense to God. Both near and afar off souls are perishing for the bread of life and the water of salvation" (
8T 52.1). ## The Core Problem: Misplaced Priorities Ellen White's concern centered on how these sports absorb time, money, and mental energy that should be devoted to God's work and helping others. She asked pointedly: "How much time is spent by intelligent human beings in horse racing, cricket matches, and ball playing! But will indulgence in these sports give men a desire to know truth and righteousness? Will it keep God in their thoughts? Will it lead them to inquire, How is it with my soul?" (
CT 456.1). She emphasized that "healthy young men and women have no need of cricket, ball-playing, or any kind of amusement just for the gratification of self, to pass away the time" (
SpTB01 29.2). Instead, she taught that God ordained human beings to work in useful service, stating that upon this their happiness dependsand that "our happiness increases and our powers develop as we engage in useful employment" (
SpTB01 29.2). ## The Spiritual Danger for Believers For Christians who participate in these competitive sports, Ellen White warned of spiritual decline: The once earnest Christian who enters into these sports is on the downgrade. He has left the region pervaded by the vital atmosphere of heaven, and has plunged into an atmosphere of mist and fog" (1888 1329.2).
She noted that even if a humble believer joins these activities while maintaining connection with Christ, he cannot in heart participate in the exciting scenebecause the words he hears are not congenial, for they are not the language of Canaan" (1888 1329.2). She concluded that these parties of pleasure and gatherings for exciting sport, made up of those who profess to be Christians, are a profanation of religion and the name of God" (1888 1329.2). The fundamental issue was that in these settings, God is forgotten. He is not in all their thoughts" (1888 1329.2). --- 💡 **You might also want to explore:**
• What did Ellen White say about proper recreation and how Christians should spend their leisure time?
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• What counsel did she give about the competitive spirit versus Christian character development?
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