September 2, 2025
Newspapers, magazines, podcasts, and online articles carry the laments of many who decry the professionalization of sports at the collegiate level. And, in the main, I am among them. Because paying athletes to play occurs mostly in the major sports at the Division I schools, however, we can find some measure of happiness that many student-athletes in the non-revenue producing sports at these schools, and many athletes in all sports at the lower divisions, will be playing purely for the love of the game. Even at the professional level, there are some—maybe their number is small-- who say they still play for the love of the game, counting it an extra blessing that they get paid to do so.
The glory of amateurism, that is, will continue to shine in other places. And it is right to call it glory. Doing things for their intrinsic value, rightness, or delight displays a kind of radiance. The artist who paints, or sculpts, or crafts something just for the love of it, trying to create something beautiful, or right, or delightful, adds glory to the world even if he or she doesn’t produce a masterpiece. The same with someone who delights in solving a complex accounting problem; a physical therapist who patiently nurses a body back into shape; a hostess who works at gracefully putting people at ease. Yes, there may be monetary compensation involved these things. But, still, these things, and a countless number of other actions, can be done primarily for the love of doing them.
And in the realm of faith, we can do things with a similar purity of intent--that is, for the love of God. The best among us learn to give to others secretly without ever telling anyone; to hand things over to God—a concern, a bad habit, an anxiety—just out of a desire to please God; to take time to attend to God--in meditation, praise, or delight--just for the sake of it. It’s the work of a lifetime to make this a primary inner motivation. But it’s an invitation to all of us. That is, it's not a work reserved for a special select breed of believers. It’s something everyone can do at work, in play, among our families, and our social groupings. We can do things—the right things-- just for the love of God. And when we do, it’s glorious.