Copyright © 2016 by

Jonathan Mukwiri

All rights reserved.

Published by:
Warning Message
Durham, United Kingdom
www.warningmessage.org
 Sports in Adventism
_________________

By Jonathan Mukwiri

M any Seventh-day Adventists want to be

amused with sports idolatry than have their
characters purified as their records are
reviewed in this antitypical Day of Atonement. They
forget that: “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of
the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). You
ignore at your peril Scriptures that condemn sports.
As you read on, keep this inspired quotation in mind:
“What force of powers is put into your games of
football and your other inventions after the way of
the Gentiles – exercises which bless no one! Just
put the same powers into exercise in doing useful
labor, and would not your record be more pleasing to
meet in the great day of God?” (Ellen G White,
Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 229).
Sports are one aspect of our secular society that,
unfortunately, many Seventh-day Adventists fail to
see the negative effects of them in developing a
heavenly character fit for the sealing before the
close of probation. Amusement in sports is one area
where we have made no difference with the world.
Put away childish things
 2
As God’s people, we carry an end-time message
to give to the world. We must act and talk with a
Christ-like mind. In 1 Corinthians 13:11 we read:
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood
as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a
man, I put away childish things.”
The world today is gone mad with grown up men
doing “childish things” in sports. Take Rugby game
for example. It is beyond “childish things” that the
whole world system with its lovers of money and self
cannot see the “childish things” in grown up men
running up and down on what looks like a cow
pasture, throwing what looks like a pig’s bladder to
each other to cross a goal line and then kicking that
pig’s bladder through what looks like two gold posts.
Even members of the remnant church find these
“childish things” entertaining, with worldly audience
not really caring what those children on the field
really do, as the audience just want to get drunk,
yell, scream, curse, and take the Lord’s name in
vain. We cannot build Christ-like character that way.
We are called to put away “childish things” and be
Christ-like; to do that we have to have a renewed
mind. Romans 12:2 tells us “And be not conformed
to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good,
 3
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Is it a
minor issue to write on this subject?
Sports leads to vainglory and selfishness
When we sit in our living rooms before our
television sets to watch world games, we forget that
God has a panoramic view. These games invented
by Satan are about ensnaring the world into
“vainglory”. God watches the drunken throng on the
football pitch, the vulgar language used by the
football fans, taking God’s name in vain, the drugs
used, the fornication involved, the precious soul
winning time wasted, and all the effects on the entire
human race that these games create.
God watches, as if powerless to stop His
remnants from getting involved. He watches His
holy angels stand aside as His children are amused
by these inventions of Satan who once sought to
derail Jesus from paying the cost of our salvation.
Angels holding the four winds begin to let go, Jesus
watching the remnants glued on television screens,
cries to God His Father, “My blood, Father, My
blood, My blood, My blood!” (EW 38.1). Is it a minor
issue to write on this subject? Is it not God’s love to
call us through this booklet to urgent repentance?
Among the principles of Christian behaviour
presented in the Bible is a special care for how and
 4
what we do as this impacts what we become. We
notice the counsel of Paul: “Let nothing be done
through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind
let each esteem other better than themselves”
(Philippians 2:3). The passage continues by
showing how Jesus voluntarily descended from the
glories of heaven to the humble state of fallen
humanity. In verse 7 Jesus “made Himself of no
reputation” so that He sets us an example. He would
rely upon no power we ourselves cannot access.
Now we like Him must empty ourselves and be
acquainted with Him who made Himself of no
reputation. But the trend of sports is anything but
making oneself of no reputation! It is very difficult to
see how having the mind of Christ can mesh with
having the mind of an athlete bent upon defeating
his foe through strength of might and through
various plays which trick his opponent.
We find nowhere in Scripture any slightest hint
from Jesus that He would have us feed the kind of
nature in sports that inclines us to selfishness.
“Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and
he that shall humble himself shall be exalted”
(Matthew 23:12). “Whosoever will be great among
you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be
chief among you, let him be your servant: even as
 5
the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but
to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many”
(Matthew 20:26-28). “For he that is least among you
all, the same shall be great” (Luke 9:48).
A peculiar person, a truly Seventh-Day Adventist,
would have a difficult time competing if he held to
the Christ-like nature and understanding of humility
outlined in scripture. In all sports, whether be the
so-called Church sports, widely practiced in our
Seventh-day Adventist schools, there is always a
winner, as there is always a looser. But in the
Christ-like view, all who strive for God’s will can win;
there need be no losers. There is a fundamental
disconnect between the gospel of God and the
philosophy of sports. Following the words of Jesus
in Luke 9:48, being “least among you all”, would
result in a poor showing in sports.
Paul did not teach a philosophy of sports
Some may pose a question: ‘what about Paul’s
use of imagery borrowed from Grecian sports
competitions?’ Others may insist that we can
develop ‘a philosophy of sport’ on the basis of such
texts. Rather than condemn such minds, let us put
the doctrine “to the law and to the testimony” (Isaiah
8:20) and see if that holds any truth.
 6
First, we turn to 1 Corinthians 9:24-27: “Know ye
not that they which run in a race run all, but one
receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And
every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate
in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not
as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the
air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into
subjection: lest that by any means, when I have
preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
How readest thou? Paul points out the giant
cleavage, the great contrast between the Grecian
competition and the Christian life. Many run in a
Grecian competitive footrace, but there is only one
winner. Like a race, there is something to be
obtained at the end of the Christian pathway. We too
are to be active so that we may successfully obtain
that. But in what particular way are we to be active?
As the runners strive for mastery, they engage in
a careful, temperate lifestyle to reach peak
performance. And if they win, what do they receive?
A corruptible crown. What do we in the Christian
walk receive? An incorruptible crown. In other words,
the contrast is between a temporal victory as
passing as the wind, and an eternal result in value
beyond measure. Paul is not promoting sports at all.
 7
In fact, Paul insists then that he is not running
uncertainly, not competing for a prize which odds
are, he is unlikely to obtain. With the value of the
prize before him in mind, Paul runs, he fights, he
exercises self-discipline. He is very alert to the
necessity of maintaining control over the sin nature.
He knows that it is ever ready to rise up and express
itself in evil poured out of us and into the world,
shaming our Christian witness for God. And so
Paul, by analogy of a sportsman, strives daily to
surrender his will to the Lordship of Jesus Christ our
saviour, until he can say: “I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave
Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
That surely is the correct reading of Paul’ writing.
There is nothing in that passage upon which we can
build up an artificial philosophy of sport. The whole
thrust of Paul’s argument is that if even the worldly
person is willing to go to so great lengths to obtain a
temporary crown that wilts, how much more should
the saints of God strive to live-out the fullness of
Christianity! There is no advocacy here for a
remnant of God to participate in sports. A lesson is
being drawn from a worldly practice and used in the
 8
context of a letter written to a church composed
mostly of people from the Greek culture that are very
familiar with surrounding culture of sports. That is all.
We turn to Paul in Hebrews 12:1, 2: “Wherefore
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a
cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight,
and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us
run with patience the race that is set before us,
Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our
faith; who for the joy that was set before Him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Here, Paul likens the remnant’s journey to a
running race, although this time to an audience that
is predominantly Jewish. He points to the victory of
Christ at the cross as the basis and reason for our
patience in the Christian journey. Looking unto
Jesus we steadfastly strive to surrender our will to
the Lordship of Christ so that we gain His power to
lay aside every sin. He shows us that our eyes must
focus on the finish line, Christ-likeness. He points to
Christ’s suffering, not to obtain an earthly crown, but
eternal life for the believer. The suffering of Christ is
put in the centre rather than the suffering of the
remnant as he participates in the journey home.
 9
In the same passage, Paul refers to the cloud of
witnesses, these are those spoken of in Hebrews
chapter 11 – those who have breasted the evils and
difficulties in their way, and who in the name of the
Lord have braced themselves successfully against
the opposing forces of evil. We too, must now
magnify the truth before the world and other
witnesses watching us. Again, the goal here is one
that involves a moral imperative, the renunciation of
sin, and an eternal reward for the believer. There is
nothing here to create a philosophy of sports from.
The remnant must be active, he must actively submit
to God so that sin may be put away. No advocacy of
participation in trickery aggression of sports here.
By analogy of what Paul is teaching by use of
imagery, Ellen G White also tells us of the battle we
have to fight. She says: “The Christian life is a battle
and a march. In this warfare there is no release; the
effort must be continuous and persevering. It is by
unceasing endeavor that we maintain the victory
over the temptations of Satan. Christian integrity
must be sought with resistless energy and
maintained with a resolute fixedness of purpose”
(Ministry of Healing, p. 453).
In your further study, you will find that the same
spiritual meaning applies to other texts that use
 10
cultural imagery. These texts include: Galatians 2:2;
Galatians 5:7; 2 Timothy 2:5; 2 Timothy 4:7; and
Philippians 3:13, 14. Read these texts prayerfully.
A usage of images from Grecian athletic
competitions in some illustrations is no license or
library from which to develop a ‘philosophy of
sports.’ We can no more create a philosophy of
sports than we can develop a philosophy of adultery,
a philosophy of car-theft, or a philosophy of murder.
Remember, the physical must be kept in harmony
with the spiritual, else our character will not be truly
transformed to Christ-likeness but instead harmonise
with the world to perish through sports.
A closer examination reveals that the nature of
sports wars against the Spirit of God. In Galatians
5:22-23 we read: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is
no law.” We find no where in Scripture any room for
the type of mindset that spurs a remnant to compete
against and prevail over someone else, to also bring
forth the fruit of the Spirit as recorded in Galatians
5:22-23. When examining these fruit, with a Spirit of
God, we have to come to the conclusion that the
beautiful fruit that God expects to grow in us, for His
glory, as we divorce ourselves from the world and its
 11
lusts, are at serious war with the bitter and
poisonous fruits that are produced in a life that
continues to be influenced by trickery and
aggression that is common to sports.
We are running the race, not of earthly things, but
of spiritual. We dare not succumb to false
scholarships that are damaging to our heavenly
character development. We dare not push our
young people into participation in such operations.
They have enough challenges without us pushing
them into this pit. We dare not make the physical
misshapen and put it in opposition to the spiritual. In
all who are under the training of God is to be
revealed a life that is not in harmony with the world,
its customs, or its practices. That is where we need
to stand. Sports may have a ubiquitous place in
society, but it is not so firmly entrenched that we
must surrender the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us
beware of this insidious disease that has crept into
our midst, and let us reject altogether the concept of
all amusements. Let us be open to the guidance of
the Spirit of Christ in the remnant church.
Some may argue that it is only competitive sports
that are to be shunned. Indeed ministers and our
Adventist institutions may argue so. But this is a
very deceptive excuse, as most of our schools do
 12
compete, count scores, declare winners, and collect
sports awards. Moreover, this argument has no
scriptural basis (no Bible or Spirit of Prophecy basis).
Others may argue that they watch or do sports for
exercise. It is a lame excuse, for in watching games
one does not exercise but self-amuse. Of course
ministers claim are active in sports to keep physically
fit, and all this in the name of following counsel of
God’s prophet Ellen G White about exercise. We
can settle this argument by quoting Ellen G White, in
Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 229, she
says: “I have not been able to find one instance
where He educated His disciples to engage in
amusement of football or pugilistic games, to obtain
physical exercise, or in theatrical performances; and
yet Christ was our pattern in all things.”
A professed pastor scorned the above passage
saying, ‘football was not even played in Jesus’ time.’
Many miss the principle God is telling us through His
prophet Ellen G White. Moreover, a careful reading
of Isaiah 22:18, “toss thee like a ball into a large
country”, would suggest the ball game of some kind
has long been around than we may think. A game of
some sort was played on Jesus, when they covered
His head with an old garment, blindfolding Him, and
 13
then struck Him in the face and cried out, “Prophesy,
who is it that smote Thee?” (Matthew 26:68).
Many Greek games – boxing, wrestling, beast
fights – were around during Jesus’ time, yet He
never partook of them. Inspired writings of Ellen G
White are telling us that Jesus never “educated His
disciples to engage in amusement of football or
pugilistic games, to obtain physical exercise.” Leave
these games alone! ‘So, how must we exercise?
We need exercise and are used to exercising
through games;’ you may say. If we are faithful in
obeying the truth it should never be based on finding
alternatives to sports first. Truth should be obeyed
for it being the truth. Those who fear God will never
lack means outside sports to do exercise.
Spirit of prophecy condemns all sports
Clearly, no true Seventh-day Adventist should
participate or encourage the use of amusements
prohibited in the principles of the Bible. These
include: Card-playing, chess, Football, Tennis,
Cricket, Baseball, Croquet, and any other
amusements of such category or that fall under the
principles by which these are prohibited. We are a
remnant church, that keeps the commandments of
God and have the testimony of Jesus (Revelation
12:17), which testimony is the Spirit of Prophecy
 14
(Revelation 19:10). With Ellen G White writings, we
have no excuse for engaging in sports. If we were
any other church, we could humanly have argued
that the Bible does not say: football or baseball
should not be played. The faithful witness is plainly
against us making any lame excuse.
Let us consider these passages from the Spirit of
Prophecy (they clearly condemn sports amusement):
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in
the world. If any man love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15. The true Christian
will not desire to enter any place of amusement or
engage in any diversion upon which he cannot ask
the blessing of God. He will not be found at the
theater, the billiard hall, or the bowling saloon. He
will not unite with the gay waltzers, or indulge in any
other bewitching pleasure that will banish Christ from
the mind” (That I May Know Him, p. 311).
“To those who plead for these diversions, we
answer, We cannot indulge in them in the name of
Jesus of Nazareth.... Go in imagination to
Gethsemane and behold the anguish which Christ
endured for us. See the world’s Redeemer wrestling
in superhuman agony, the sins of the whole world
upon His soul. Hear His prayer, borne upon the
sympathizing breeze, ‘O my Father, if it be possible,
 15
let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will,
but as thou wilt’ (Matt. 26:39). The hour of darkness
has come. Christ has entered the shadow of His
cross. Alone He must drink the bitter cup. Of all
earth’s children whom He has blessed and
comforted there is not one to console Him in this
dreadful hour. He is betrayed into the hands of a
murderous mob. Faint and weary, He is dragged
from one tribunal to another. . . . He who knew not
the taint of sin pours out His life as a malefactor
upon Calvary. This history should stir every soul to
its depths. It was to save us that the Son of God
became a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
. . . Let a sense of the infinite sacrifice made for our
redemption be ever with you, and the ballroom will
lose its attractions” (That I May Know Him, p. 311).
“Not only did Christ die as our sacrifice, but He
lived as our example. In His human nature He
stands, complete, perfect, spotless. To be a
Christian is to be Christlike. Our entire being – soul,
body, and spirit – must be purified, ennobled,
sanctified, until we shall reflect His image and imitate
His example. . . . We need not fear to engage in any
pursuit or pleasure that will aid us in this work. But it
is our duty to shun everything that would divert our
attention or lessen our zeal” (May Know Him, 311).
 16
“The mind thus educated to enjoy physical
taxation in practical life becomes enlarged, and
through culture and training, well disciplined and
richly furnished for usefulness, and acquires a
knowledge essential to be a help and blessing to
themselves and to others. Let every student
consider, and be able to say, I study, I work, for
eternity. They can learn to be patiently industrious
and persevering in their combined efforts of physical
and mental labor. What force of powers is put into
your games of football and your other inventions
after the way of the Gentiles – exercises which bless
no one! Just put the same powers into exercise in
doing useful labor, and would not your record be
more pleasing to meet in the great day of God?”
(Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 229).
“Whatever is done under the sanctified stimulus
of Christian obligation, because you are stewards in
trust of talents to use to be a blessing to yourself and
to others, gives you substantial satisfaction; for all is
done to the glory of God. I cannot find an instance in
the life of Christ where He devoted time to play and
amusement. He was the great Educator for the
present and the future life. I have not been able to
find one instance where He educated His disciples
to engage in amusement of football or pugilistic
 17
games, to obtain physical exercise, or in theatrical
performances; and yet Christ was our pattern in all
things. Christ, the world’s Redeemer, gave to every
man his work and bids them ‘occupy till I come.’ And
in doing His work, the heart warms to such an
enterprise, and all the powers of the soul are
enlisted in a work assigned of the Lord and Master.
It is a high and important work. The Christian
teacher and student are enabled to become
stewards of the grace of Christ, and be always in
earnest” (Fundamentals Christian Education, 229).
“The public feeling is that manual labor is
degrading, yet men may exert themselves as much
as they choose at cricket, baseball, or in pugilistic
contests, without being regarded as degraded.
Satan is delighted when he sees human beings
using their physical and mental powers in that which
does not educate, which is not useful, which does
not help them to be a blessing to those who need
their help. While the youth are becoming expert in
games that are of no real value to themselves or to
others, Satan is playing the game of life for their
souls. Taking from them the talents that God has
given them, and placing in their stead his own evil
attributes. It is his effort to lead men to ignore God.
He seeks to engross and absorb the mind so
 18
completely that God will find no place in the
thoughts. He does not wish people to have a
knowledge of their Maker, and he is well pleased if
he can set in operation games and theatrical
performances that will so confuse the senses of the
youth that God and heaven will be forgotten”
(Messages to Young People, 213; RH 3 Oct 1912).
“The world is not a croquet ground, on which we
are to amuse ourselves; it is a school where we are
to study earnestly and thoroughly the lessons given
in the word of God. There they may learn how to
receive and how to impart. There they may learn
how to seek for souls in the highways and byways of
life. How earnestly the games of this world are
engaged in! If those who engage in them would
strive as earnestly for the crown of life which fadeth
not away, what victories they would gain! They
would become medical missionaries, and they would
see how much they could do to relieve suffering
humanity. What a blessing they would be! What we
need is practical education. Ministers and people,
practice the lessons Christ has given in His word,
and you will become Christlike in character” (Medical
Ministry, p. 318).
“The true Christian will not desire to enter any
place of amusement or engage in any diversion
 19
upon which he cannot ask the blessing of God. He
will not be found at the theater, the billiard hall, or
the bowling saloon. He will not unite with the gay
waltzers or indulge in any other bewitching pleasure
that will banish Christ from the mind” (The Adventist
Home, p. 515).
“To those who plead for these diversions we
answer, We cannot indulge in them in the name of
Jesus of Nazareth. The blessing of God would not
be invoked upon the hour spent at the theater or in
the dance. No Christian would wish to meet death in
such a place. No one would wish to be found there
when Christ shall come” (The Adventist Home, p.
516).
“Such an example makes an impression upon the
minds of youth. They notice that lotteries and fairs
and games are sanctioned by the church, and they
think there is something fascinating in this way of
obtaining means. A youth is surrounded by
temptations. He enters the bowling alley, the
gambling saloon, to see the sport. He sees the
money taken by the one who wins. This looks
enticing. It seems an easier way of obtaining money
than by earnest work, which requires persevering
energy and strict economy. He imagines there can
be no harm in this; for similar games have been
 20
resorted to in order to obtain means for the benefit of
the church. Then why should he not help himself in
this way?” (Counsels on Stewardship, p. 201).
“Some of the most popular amusements, such as
football and boxing, have become schools of
brutality. They are developing the same
characteristics as did the games of ancient Rome.
The love of domination, the pride in mere brute
force, the reckless disregard of life, are exerting
upon the youth a power to demoralize that is
appalling” (The Adventist Home, p. 500).
“God designs that the body shall be a temple for
His Spirit. How solemn then is the responsibility
resting on every soul. . . . How many there are,
blessed with reason and intelligence, talents which
should be used to the glory of God, who willfully
degrade soul and body. Their lives are a continual
round of excitement. Cricket and football matches
and horse racing absorb the attention. The liquor
curse, with its world of woe, is defiling the temple of
God. . . . By the use of liquor and tobacco men are
debasing the life given them for high and holy
purposes. Their practices are represented by wood,
hay, and stubble. Their God-given powers are
perverted, their senses degraded, to minister to the
desires of the carnal mind” (Temperance, p. 142).
 21
“Every day there is housework to be done –
cooking, washing dishes, sweeping, and dusting.
Mothers, have you taught your daughters to do
these daily duties? . . . Their muscles need exercise.
In the place of getting exercise by jumping and
playing ball or croquet, let their exercise be to some
purpose” (Child Guidance, p. 352).
“Washing clothes upon the old-fashioned rubbing-
board, sweeping, dusting, and a variety of other
duties in the kitchen and the garden, will be valuable
exercise for young ladies. Such useful labor will
supply the place of croquet, archery, dancing, and
other amusements which benefit no one”
(Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 74).
“God would have all His gifts appreciated. All
fragments, jots, and tittles are to be treasured
carefully, and we are carefully to become acquainted
with the necessities of others. All that we have of
Bible truth is not merely for our benefit, but to impart
to other souls, and this is to be impressed upon
human minds, and every kindly word spoken to
prepare the way to make a channel through which
the truth will flow forth in rich currents to other souls.
“Every working of Christ in miracles was
essential, and was to reveal to the world that there
was a great work to be done on the Sabbath day for
 22
the relief of suffering humanity, but the common
work was not to be done. Pleasure seeking, ball
playing, swimming, was not a necessity, but a sinful
neglect of the sacred day sanctified by Jehovah.
Christ did not perform miracles merely to display His
power, but always to meet Satan in afflicting
suffering humanity. Christ came to our world to meet
the needs of the suffering, whom Satan was
torturing” (Selected Messages, Vol. 3, p. 258).
“The true followers of Christ will have sacrifices to
make. They will shun places of worldly amusement
because they find no Jesus there, – no influence
which will make them heavenly minded and increase
their growth in grace. Obedience to the word of God
will lead them to come out from all these things, and
be separate” (Messages to Young People, p. 376).
Do not follow world standards
In matters of sports, it is with much sadness that
most ministers and leaders in our institutions reading
the above Biblical and Spirit of Prophecy quotes may
dismiss them as not relevant to modern times, or
simply ignore counsel to keep their institutions in line
with the world standards. To many, school ratings in
the world are more important than following the plain
word of God. These leaders turn up on pulpits and
steer the train with the remnants deceived on board.
 23
But more fearful is the thought that Satan knows that
as long as the remnants are amused in these
games, they cannot develop a perfect heavenly
character, they will not be sealed, they will end up
worshiping the beast and eventually Satan will claim
victory over them in the great controversy.
As we end the subject of sports, we must not be
silent about the objectionable use of television sets
to watch amusements in most of our living rooms.
One question we ought to ask is how much
spiritual empowerment can a true remnant get out of
watching an amusement show on a television set?
We commonly argue for having a television set in
our living rooms to use it as an educational tool for
the family. But how often the lust of the eyes lures
us beyond the boundaries!
Most, if not all programmes, even the most
educational documentaries, do not build our
characters for the sealing before the close of
probation.
Whereas evil is all around us in the streets of
most cities, whereas therefore we struggle to turn
away from the enticing scenes of evil we cannot
avoid while walking down the street, we have
enough temptation to occupy all of our time and
effort without bringing a deliberate source of
 24
temptation right into the living room. The Lord
through the prophet has repeatedly warned against
the likes of bowling, going to movie theatres, and we
must apply the same warnings to movies we watch
in our living rooms. The devil would have us think
that the Lord is only against watching a movie in the
theatre and the movie becomes a ‘Christian movie’
once bought for family use in the living room.
World TV programmes are not produced by
people who have come in the spirit of Elijah or John
the Baptist to prepare us for the sealing. No wonder
Satan manipulates the effects of these scenes.
Most of our senses have been damned over the
years of abuse with what the world offers us through
the TV, that we have come to rationalise snatches
and phrases of gutter talk that creep into most
educational shows as innocent. The often-short
clips of immoral acts that appear in TV
documentaries, we have come to rationalise as
acceptable innocent looks.
We fail to detect how this innocent look is a sin.
We fail to trace back in history the innocent looks of
our mother Eve in the Garden of Eden. Her innocent
looks on the forbidden tree led into all the multiplied
sorrows and eventual deaths of billions of human
beings over six tragic millenniums.
 25
We fail to trace back in history the innocent looks
of King David. He awoke from an afternoon nap and
coincidently saw his neighbour’s beautiful wife taking
a bath on her Mediterranean roof garden. His
innocent looks led to adultery and murder, sins
which influenced a whole nation to forget God. The
results of King David’s immorality with Bathsheba so
marked the family of David that four of his own
children were taken from him by tragedy or
apostasy. How bitterly he later lamented the
scarring consequences of his innocent looking!
We must not set up those who are already
overwhelmed with sinful thoughts in their minds for
avoidable assaults of the enemy through so-called
innocent looks at evil on our television screens.
Jesus tells us that “Ye have heard that it was said
of them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a
woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with
her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27, 28). Our
creator, the all wise Jesus, is simply telling us the
science of our wonderfully made beings: that since
the brain is the decision centre for the body, every
act performed must first be conceived in the mind
before it can be translated into action.
 26
To our movies on TV, Jesus is simply telling us
that by beholding we become, and that we
vicariously participate in the actual act. Even though
the viewer may be mature enough to know that the
scene is only a fabricated, pretend-situation, yet he
becomes as emotionally involved in the picture as if
he were actually living out the experience. The heart
pounds with fright, the eyes fill with tears, and the
viewer is mentally projecting himself into the movie
scene. Whether fighting and shooting his way out of
a desperate situation, suffering the trauma of
incurable disease, addicting to immoral habits, or
yielding to the excitement of a provocative bedroom
scene, the viewer is caught up in the plot, taking part
by proxy in the adventures of the hero or heroine.
Jesus said that this kind of participation is just as
wrong as the actual physical involvement in sin.
Jesus tells us the solution to the lusts of the eye:
“And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and
cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one
of thy members should perish, and not that thy
whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:29).
If we apply the principle to our TV scenes, Jesus
is saying that if the eye is looking at a movie that is
liable to lead the mind to harbour sin, the most
drastic action should be taken to put those scenes
 27
out of view. Jesus is saying here that if we have a
TV set in the home which we cannot control, it is
better to cast it out of the house onto the junk pile
than to be led into sin by its influence.
Better to lead a so-called one-eyed existence
without television than to lose our soul by defiling
through sinful thoughts created by television. The
only way to be pure-minded is to look at, listen to,
and speak only the things that are pure.
Concluding remarks
Paul tells us: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things
are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever
things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever, things are lovely, whatsoever things are
of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be
any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
The secret of being pure, honest, and virtuous is
to think that way, and the way we think is determined
by what we see, hear and speak. Saints, let us learn
from the lessons King David learnt and say, “I will
set no wicked thing before mine eyes” (Psalm
101:3). Put on Christ “and make not provision for
the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14).
To recognise the dangers of amusements,
dangers of sports, which most of our institutions and
leaders enjoy at the peril of souls, is not an attack on
 28
our church or its institutions. Satan would be
pleased to let you believe that addressing sports is
an attack on the church, as many pastors have been
corrupted by this evil. This and similar dangers have
been recognised in the past. For example, in 1985,
the president of the North Pacific Union stated, “we
are at a crossroads in the church as to whether we
will go the way of what we classify as mainline,
nominal Protestantism, or whether we will uphold the
standards of Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy”
(Adventist Review, August 1, 1985, p. 14).
Sadly, some of our pastors have chosen the
“mainline” route and they brag on pulpits what sports
club they support. One pastor stated: “Where sports
is concerned I am a great enthusiast of sports as a
means of exercise or even enjoyment as a former
runner, and footballer etc” (14 July 2009). What a
sad “mainline” route some of our pastors have taken!
Shall these pastors repent and lead the church to
salvation, or will they pursue “vainglory” and cause
others to perish with them? Will sanctified laymen
awaken sleeping souls or will they, for fear of
disfellowship from church, enjoy sports and remain
silent as souls perish? Saints, “every one of us shall
give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).
 This booklet is available from
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