Chariots of Fire

I watched Chariots of Fire over break. Maybe I was primed because of the Midterm essay that I was thinking about, but Liddell’s situation and dilemma seemed to be about devotion. In my essay I talked about how devotion involves a sacrifice of resources in order to further God’s plan. Liddell believed that in running and in winning, he could further the spreading of the Gospel. People pay attention to the Olympics and so when someone is so vocal about their faith during the Olympics, people notice. Like when Tim Tebow played a game with the verse John 3:16 written on his eye black, people paid attention. Apparently, that verse was the top thing googled in the US that day and the next. People pay attention and learn about the God that they worship. When Liddell refused to run in the qualifiers that were on Sunday, he attracted even more attention. This was a form of devotion to God. Liddell loved to run, but he sacrificed his change to earn a gold medal in order to do something that he thought would honor God. In a way, this decision brought God even more attention, but people couldn’t talk about Liddell and his situation without talking about the God to whom he was so devoted. I don’t think that I would have made the same decision. Honestly, I probably would have made some excuse, saying that because my running was for God in the first place, running on Sunday would mean that I was doing something for God on God’s day. That makes sense, right? But at the same time, I truly honor and respect the decision that Liddell made. The movie is made in such a way that it would have the audience believe that because of that decision, God provided for Liddell and helped him win. The odds were against him because he was running in an event that he had not planned to run and it was something that was completely different from what he was used to. Before the race, though, he received a note that said something along the lines of “Because you have honored Me, I will honor you.” Meaning that because Liddell chose to rest on the Sabbath, God would help him to win the race in which he did compete. What do you think? Can running be a form of devotion? What would you have told Liddell if he had told you that he would not compete because the heats were on a Sunday?