Record Live Podcast

Boycott the Olympics_ Yes or no
Jarrod Stackelroth: [00:00:00] Hi there, everyone. I'm Jared.
Zanita Fletcher: And I'm Zenita.
Jarrod Stackelroth: We are your hosts of Record Live, a podcast where we talk about church, faith, and living well.
Zanita Fletcher: We believe as followers of Jesus, faith is more than just a set of beliefs. It's a way of life, something we put into practice.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Let's go live. The world has been gripped with Olympic fever.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Zenita, today. We're going to talk about the Olympics and we're going to have a debate. Now we don't often do this on Record Live. We are often on the same page, you and I, Zanita, , but we thought for the sake of Doing something a bit different in the spirit of competition, perhaps. we are going to have a debate [00:01:00] today.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Zenita representing the Gold Coast, the sunny Gold Coast, the state of fantastic state of Queensland. In the maroon corner, we've got Zenita, who will be building a case that Christians should think about boycotting the Olympics, or at least should be concerned. Myself, representing, I mean, I am in New South Wales, but I sort of feel still connected to my home state of South Australia.
Jarrod Stackelroth: So I don't know if we're talking state of origin, perhaps I'm representing the beautiful free state of South Australia. I, , I'm going to build a case for the idea that we should not boycott the Olympics. And if you have strong opinions and you're watching this, we would love you to ask questions, to challenge the points being raised, to suggest your [00:02:00] own rationale for why or why you do not follow.
Jarrod Stackelroth: , perhaps let us know which country you're in or which country you're supporting. And, yeah, we'd love to hear from you as well. So, yes, it will be a little different today, but in the spirit of Christian companionship and fellowship, , it will not be a heated or aggressive debate. It might be competitive, but we will try and keep the gloves on Zenita.
Zanita Fletcher: Sounds good. I, . Remember, we had an assignment in high school, and it was like a debating assignment, and it was my least favorite thing in the world, because debating is not something that I really enjoy, but , yeah, we just decided to do something different today, and I feel like I've got some valid points.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Excellent. Well, we're going to hear your first point in a moment, but I just want to say this. There are possibly as many opinions on this as there are Christians. [00:03:00] And here's what we don't do enough. We don't have conversations about why we believe what we believe. , this show record live is all about living our faith out.
Jarrod Stackelroth: , it's about church. It's about culture. It's about how we behave and how we believe. And. We always like to get practical on Record Live, so this is a practical example, I suppose, of living out our faith in how we react to the Olympics. How do we react to that? And, perhaps as a disclaimer before we start, I don't know if either of us would die on this hill.
Jarrod Stackelroth: , if that's fair to say it's Anita, I think it's probably something that it's, it's good to think about both sides and I don't think we'll come out of today's debate awarding a gold medal., there won't be a winner of this particular record live Olympics. We will just, , have a good conversation, hopefully stimulate some thoughts from you guys and some comments from you guys.
Jarrod Stackelroth: And, navigate, how do we live as Christians in this tricky world? So [00:04:00] Zanita, you're going to kick us off with your opening salvo.
Zanita Fletcher: Awesome. Well, yeah, like Jared said, if anyone has any strong opinions, we would love to hear them in the comments to see what everyone is standing with this. But I thought the first point that I would raise.
Zanita Fletcher: Just because it's timely and it is, , being talked about a lot at the moment is this whole idea around the opening ceremony that if anyone hasn't watched it, it was basically a parody of, the Last Supper. Yeah, and there's, there's just been a lot of feedback around that. I think that's why a lot of people, there are a lot of people at the moment saying, that they're not supporting the Olympics this year because of it, , and that they don't think as Christians we should be.
Zanita Fletcher: , which I find interesting because the Olympics were never really founded off like Christian basis. It's like I was reading in the National Geographic today that, the first Olympics were held in Greece where people went to worship gods and People would either fight until someone won or died.
Zanita Fletcher: So it was like pretty extreme. And so they're not really things that we, [00:05:00] condone in Christianity or stand for in Christianity, but that's how it started. And a lot of people have supported the Olympics, even though that was its kind of foundation. If we also look at the history of the Olympics were actually canceled by the Romans because they didn't approve of it basically.
Zanita Fletcher: And they weren't really celebrated, very much until Hitler came in again, Hitler kind of made the Olympics like a , big thing. Like there's this, , there's this podcast that has come out recently, and he's talking about like the influence that Hitler had on the Olympics.
Zanita Fletcher: Berlin, I think was the first. Olympics to be televised and Hitler did this because he wanted people to look at Germany as like a country of power and a country of like, awe. And so, yeah, that was the first Olympics to be televised. It was the first Olympics that had, the torch. It was, yeah, there's, there's just heaps of things that came from that, which is actually quite interesting.
Zanita Fletcher: Um, and there was even a period where like Jews weren't allowed to compete in it. So it's like, if we look at the history of Olympics, I think there's [00:06:00] a lot of things in the past that weren't really in line with our Christian beliefs and values, but that hasn't really stopped us in the past.,
Jarrod Stackelroth: Can I, can I ask a clarifying questions, Anita?
Zanita Fletcher: Yeah, for sure.
Jarrod Stackelroth: So, You could draw those arguments to a logical conclusion. You could, boycott any sport, potentially. , sport is often associated with alcohol, with gambling, with competition in and of itself. Some Christians feel that competitive spirit is wrong. Going against another person for the sole purpose of defeating them is problematic.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Do you care to elaborate?
Zanita Fletcher: I think you should keep arguing your point.
Jarrod Stackelroth: I'm asking a question. I'm merely asking a question. [00:07:00]
Zanita Fletcher: Uh, I think there's good and bad things of everything. Like sure. There's good things about the Olympics. Like I'm not going to stay here and say, I think it's all bad. , But I guess I'm talking about like where it came from and the fact that there's You know, I think it's kind of funny that now we're saying we should cancel it after we've seen one thing that goes against our values, but it was always like, it was founded off that, like, it wasn't, it didn't come with, good principles in mind.
Zanita Fletcher: It was quite aggressive to start with. So.
Zanita Fletcher: Yeah. There's good things about the Olympics, but there's good things about, , like Game of Thrones. There's also really like terrible things about, there's good things about like so many things and there's good, like, but it's kind of like, well, where do you, I think it's a very personal thing. Where do you sit with that?
Zanita Fletcher: Like, is that okay to you? Maybe it is. Like, can you, can you take the good and the bad or do you need to draw the line somewhere?
Jarrod Stackelroth: Okay, I have a, an opinion on this.[00:08:00]
Jarrod Stackelroth: I'm going to skip to my third point, which I was going to present because, um, I think that's relevant to what you've brought up.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Reclaiming or redeeming things that potentially started in disgrace and disgust and tragedy is the Christian M. O. , the cross as a symbol. is a symbol of cruelty, of painful hatred, and yet it is very significant in the Christian faith., many of the hymns we know and love started off as pub ballads.
Jarrod Stackelroth: And yet the tune has been set to poetic words that are beautiful and uplifting and give our hearts, the opportunity to connect closer to God. So I don't think that we should necessarily put too much stock in the origins of a thing. This argument has been made about [00:09:00] Christmas and about Easter, about many things in the Christian tradition.
Jarrod Stackelroth: And yet, It strikes me that, we are to be in the world, but not of the world. So we don't necessarily continue traditions and, problematic things that we disagree with as Christians. I don't think we should do that if we, um, know that something is sacrificed to an idol or that's part of the deal.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Well, we're not going to worship that thing or, or take part in that ritual., but at the same time,, Paul sort of tells us that. , it's not necessarily, it doesn't have to be a stumbling block to our own faith., I found a story today that I was quite interested in. , we could say that the Olympics are evil.
Jarrod Stackelroth: They started as evil pagan rituals and they will always be thus. However, that's not the attitude of the, French, , Belgian,, union, [00:10:00] the Franco Belgium union in Europe, of seventh day Adventist church, Pascal Roday is a pastor there and he is a chaplain. He's part of the chaplaincy team at the Paris Olympics.
Jarrod Stackelroth: So he's looking for opportunities to, I guess, connect with people, reach people where they are now, if our Adventist church in, in The region had decided to boycott the Olympics. We could not necessarily have people on the ground to reach those people. We could stay at home. We could not watch it. , but we would miss an opportunity there.
Jarrod Stackelroth: And so I think a distinct and a strong call for Christianity is to reclaim and to redeem the culture. Even if it starts off in problematic places, we have a, mandate from God, I think, to, to do that. , it's that incarnational ministry of Jesus. So, I think that it's interesting to note where the Olympics started and how some of [00:11:00] those things developed.
Jarrod Stackelroth: But I don't think it should necessarily be a determining factor. Now,, in that point, I'm addressing more the historic, you know,, whenever you bring up Hitler in a debate, you've won the debate, it's like, well, you know, you've led with a strong suit, ,
Jarrod Stackelroth: so well done. Kudos to that. But, you know. Like, my, my point is to address that origins story, like, just because something started badly doesn't mean it has to finish badly. Look at us, as humans, like, we all have sinful natures until Christ changes us, until Christ does his work in us. And so, if we write off anything and everything that's sinful, we're gonna have trouble, , connecting with anyone.
Jarrod Stackelroth: So I think that would be, , a point that I would like to make. What I might do, do you have any questions or response to [00:12:00] that?
Zanita Fletcher: , I have a counter argument, I suppose.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Okay, give it to us. Let's go.
Zanita Fletcher: Well, I guess you're kind of considering like the great good, like if we boycott the Olympics, how will we reach the people?
Zanita Fletcher: Am I right in saying that?
Jarrod Stackelroth: Possibly.
Zanita Fletcher: Reach the people or connect with the people. Redeeming
Jarrod Stackelroth: culture is my, is the main thrust of my point. I have more about connecting with people later. You'll have to, you'll have to stay tuned. My, my broader point is I guess there is an opportunity to redeem things that started in a bad place. Is my, is my point.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Direct argument to your first point.
Zanita Fletcher: Sure. I guess I would argue that there are a lot of people that are still, , Suffering is maybe a strong word, but, , , they're at a loss because of the Olympics. Like, we have a lot of places where there's displacement of residents because they've decided to build Stadiums and car parks for this two week game series.
Zanita Fletcher: , I think back in, [00:13:00] even back in Rio and just in 2016, which is pretty recently, there were many poor families that were just pushed out of their neighborhoods that they'd been raised in, that they'd grown up in for the sake of these Olympics. And then they've been put in these shabby government houses, separated from all of their community, basically.
Zanita Fletcher: Now, everyone's, some people here, some people here, and, you know, , like that sucks. Like imagine if your childhood home had been smashed down for a stadium that was going to be used for two weeks. And then all of a sudden it's a, , abandoned stadium because after that, it's not in use anymore. Like I remember, , when my family and I were in Europe and it was a bit of like a, My dad's an architect, so it was a bit of an architecture tour, but we ended up seeing so many stadiums that were just like empty.
Zanita Fletcher: And we also came across like towns that were just like ghost towns because it was once. I don't know if it's held there or there was once like a competitive game event thing held there, but now it's like, well, there's nothing [00:14:00] there. And so I think a lot of the cases like in Rio and other countries that they put a lot of money into like upkeeping these pretty empty stadiums that have no use anymore when that money could be going towards.
Zanita Fletcher: much better things, I think, in society. , so I think, I think it actually affects people more than we think. I remember Daniel Kubrick wrote an article on the World Cup and on how that influenced, and it was a different thing to the Olympics, but how that, how much money went to that and how that influenced people when they built stadiums and things.
Zanita Fletcher: And I was like, oh, that's crazy. And now I don't really look at the World Cup the same because I like think of those statistics and I think of like the impact that it has on people. And so, yeah, I think obviously it can help us. connect with people and it can help us reach people. But I think sometimes we, we don't even think about all the people that are being put out from it as well.
Zanita Fletcher: That's my argument.
Jarrod Stackelroth: And Jesus said, the poor, you will always have with you. That's a very [00:15:00] heartless argument, isn't it? , Paris has been called the sustainable games. Apparently they didn't build. They didn't build any stadiums, they used facilities or they at least used temporary things, they didn't build any new things.
Jarrod Stackelroth: It's true,
Zanita Fletcher: they have only spent 25 percent of the budget, they've only spent 10 billion on the Olympics so far, but 10 billion, that's a lot of money. Typically, I think London spent 17 million and then Tokyo spent 28 million, so they've done well, but still, 10 million, you can do a lot with that.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Million or billion?
Zanita Fletcher: Billion, sorry.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Billion, billion. Ten billion. Ten billion.
Zanita Fletcher: There you go.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Well, a good point, Zenita. I'd like to address the idea of being offended by the games. I have been encouraged to see that some people have stood up for the Christian faith, including a very strange [00:16:00] source, perhaps to some people, the nation of Iran, Iran has put out a statement like this mocking of Christianity, this mocking of Jesus, who in Islam is a prophet, is not appropriate.
Jarrod Stackelroth: , and so, I've been reading about this. I've been seeing different people's opinions and the organizers of the Olympics, the organizers of the opening ceremony have been
Jarrod Stackelroth: , they have been doing a bit of double, double speak in other words, they're saying one thing, but potentially letting on that is not quite true. They're trying to deflect and to, , diminish the outrage. , but I definitely think there was an intention to. To shock, to offend, and to, stir people up.
Jarrod Stackelroth: I don't appreciate that as a Christian, I don't appreciate , the belittling of, , the degrading of, of Jesus and the Christian faith. I think that that is not really acceptable, but [00:17:00] as a Christian, I am responsible for how I react and what sort of. Impact my reaction has on other people. So I saw a really interesting, video on, on social media.
Jarrod Stackelroth: , it was actually posted by one of the people that watches this program fairly regularly. , shout out to Lynelle. I saw it on her, And, this person said they were a troll, an internet troll. They were basically an atheist and they used to hate on Christians and they used to stir up Christians just to get a reaction.
Jarrod Stackelroth: They really wanted to make Christians angry because then it proved to them that Christians were hypocritical. They weren't peace loving, Jesus loving, people loving, , people loving, , people loving people, they were angry, annoyed people, just like the rest of us sort of thing. That was her, her sort of thing.
Jarrod Stackelroth: And she was saying the thing that God gives us that we can't get from anywhere else is peace. And I've seen a lot of [00:18:00] Christians this week allow this ceremony to disturb their peace, , to get very offended.
Zanita Fletcher: You've boycotted it.
Jarrod Stackelroth: We got it. That's why we're talking about this. We're annoyed, you know? So while there is a point to be made that what they did was unacceptable.
Jarrod Stackelroth: It was inappropriate. It was, it was, it was, yeah, it was gross. Why, why do we need that on television when children are watching, you know, what the debauchery or the degradation, so great. We didn't watch. The ceremony, if we're good Adventists, it was Friday night, so we didn't watch it. So we've only seen replays.
Jarrod Stackelroth: We only have hearsay. , but we can still get offended and annoyed and boycott, the replays and the hearsay, but I guess to argue the point of maybe we shouldn't boycott the Olympics is to look at what Jesus and the disciples. How they reacted to offense, how they reacted to being [00:19:00] spat on and locked up, persecuted.
Jarrod Stackelroth: , Jesus said, you will be persecuted in this world, but you should take up your cross and follow me. There are examples of Jesus defending others who were unjustly treated, who were falsely accused. The woman caught in adultery. , some of the people he healed on Sabbath who are copping some flack for being healed on Sabbath.
Jarrod Stackelroth: He found them later in the crowd and he encouraged them, , that's how I read, , some of those stories. He wasn't one to stand by, uh, while, the poor and the widowed and the, downtrodden were abused and degraded. But. There is a sense of entitlement that comes with being offended easily.
, and it's why people get offended easily because they think, they have to stand up and fight, , on behalf of God. There's a whole movement,, in the evangelical world at the moment about this muscular Christianity, you , this man's religion, Jesus was a manly man and we [00:20:00] need to be men and we need to be warriors and we need to fight back.
Jarrod Stackelroth: And there is some of that imagery in the Bible. But it's very much,
Jarrod Stackelroth: It doesn't square with what, what Paul says about , submitting to one another, husband and wife, , male and female, respecting and loving other people, , love others as I have loved you and have laid down my life. Like when Jesus calls a husband to lay down , his life for, for his wife.
Jarrod Stackelroth: It's not a call to. make her follow your instructions or get offended if she doesn't. It's not a call to, , stand up and fight for your own rights and, and,, call out blasphemy and attack those who they're the world, they're fallen, they've got issues., they're going to be sinners. They're going to do things that we don't agree with.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Do we have to stand on our soapbox and call it out and be boycotting everything every time that something like that happens. I'm not sure that Jesus [00:21:00] had that response or that we should necessarily. So that's my second point. Maybe we shouldn't become as easily offended by things. Maybe we should take a more Jesus approach.
Zanita Fletcher: And the Jesus approach would be allowing the Olympics to continue.
Jarrod Stackelroth: The Jesus approach would be to to redeem what needs to be redeemed
Jarrod Stackelroth: and to brush the feet, the sand off his feet from the people that don't accept him. Let them not accept him, but go to where those people are and find people that will accept him. And that speaks to my earlier point of, like, us having chaplains at the games. Us handing out tracts at the games and caring about the people, the athletes, the village people.
Jarrod Stackelroth: If there are no Christian athletes, Who's going to reach the peers in the Olympic village? Who's going to reach out to those who are in that sphere? Because we all choose not to take part [00:22:00] in any way. I just think we're leaving people groups unreached that we could reach.
Zanita Fletcher: Yeah, I think it's a valid point. Maybe, maybe not convincing to keep the Olympics, but I think it is. That's a valid point, and I probably would agree with you on most of that. , My final argument, , because we are actually running out of time quite quickly, my final argument is that, the Olympics celebrates people who do not have very good vision.
Zanita Fletcher: Life balance, , and who are striving to be the best at something and go to extremes to become the best at something, rather than to , pursue careers or lives that I guess contribute more meaningfully to society. , like, I think it's, It's awesome to be an Olympian. And it's , kind of like you were saying,, there are great things in sportsmanship and in that, there are definitely things that we can pull from that and be inspired by.
Zanita Fletcher: And that's awesome. But I think as a whole, , I think can we kind of over celebrate some of these people? [00:23:00] And , it was, I actually interviewed an Olympian for Signs of the Times recently. , My stance right now might seem contradictory because the article suggests otherwise. So clearly I'm in the gray with this, but, it was interesting that she was even saying, like, she commented that the desperation of people to get to the Olympics is something that she's never experienced.
Zanita Fletcher: And for some people, it's like death row stuff. Like they. They just get brutal. They get aggressive. , and so I think, yeah, it's very easy to be like, Oh, look, we're looking at determination and we're looking at consistency and we're looking at this, but we also do see some ugly characteristics in people.
Zanita Fletcher: And there's a lot that we don't see. Like, I think the television probably doesn't show, ,the negative sides to it because that wouldn't work in their favor. You'd get more people saying let's boycott the Olympics. Let's boycott sports. But, , Yeah, I don't, I think it's probably over glorified. The people in Olympics, because there's a lot of [00:24:00] people that are doing pretty amazing things for the whole of society that we don't really uplift on a podium and give a gold medal to, like we do for someone who is committed to like, be the best at something for the sake of, I want to be the best in the world.
Zanita Fletcher: And so. That's my argument for that. Thoughts, comments, views.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Your arguments are very persuasive, Zanita. However, I will say,
Jarrod Stackelroth: what would we rather? Our kids to be inspired by pop stars and movie celebrities or sports people who actually advocate an active and healthy lifestyle. I know a lot of kids get involved in sport because they watch the Olympics and they may not become addicted or obsessed to training as , some of these people do.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Yes, maybe we're highlighting the the glorification of extreme, it's an extreme body modification. You're working out to an extreme, you're eating to an extreme, you're doing extreme [00:25:00] sleep, patterns to make everything peak at the right time to win that gold medal. , is it a little obsessive?
Jarrod Stackelroth: Probably, , but at the same time there can be positive messages in the games. I think for myself. You know, my kids, we were watching the gymnastics came on the other night and my kids got up and started trying to do cartwheels. And now with my 18 month old, that was difficult. He was just putting his head on the ground and, but he was trying to copy his sister and she was like, I could do this one day.
Jarrod Stackelroth: I said, you'll probably be a bit tall to be a gymnast. She's going to be, yeah, quite tall. I think for a girl, get them into basketball like daddy, but she was getting up off her seat. And she was. And she was doing cartwheels in the lounge room and she was, , she was seeing people active. She wasn't seeing drama or cartoons or, or whatever.
Jarrod Stackelroth: She was seeing people who are healthy doing, active things. So I think that's a positive thing. , for my final sort of point to drive [00:26:00] home some of the things I've been saying, but also to just, you know, as we start to wrap up, , Because the kids are talking about it at school, because society is like so driven by, yes, can be misplaced sense of patriotism and nationalism that can be stirred up at the Olympics, but they can also just be, a healthier sense of pride and connectivity.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Hey, we're all Australians. We all excited to get behind our hero athletes who,, are doing amazing things. Maybe we're New Zealanders, maybe we're Fijians, getting behind our Fijian sevens team. Like there's a sense of bringing it together and we stand as set apart. We're Christians, we're set apart, we're peculiar people.
Jarrod Stackelroth: And so I think we lean into that too much sometimes and we cut ourselves off from any and every way we have to connect. It's a very culturally relevant thing, the Olympics, everyone's talking about it. And if we say, Oh, I don't watch it, I don't believe in the Olympics. Like. In personal sharing with a colleague or a neighbor.[00:27:00]
Jarrod Stackelroth: Yeah, maybe we could say that. Maybe we could say I'm a Christian and I didn't really like the opening ceremony. That really offended me. It was paying,, paying out something that I really believe in, that I really need in my life. And yet,, they had no respect for that. You can share that personally, but you can also know who won the gold for Australia last night, because that's, , exciting or interesting, or people are getting behind that.
Jarrod Stackelroth: There's a connection and cultural moment that we're missing out on if we completely boycott the Olympics. As a man, I find it hard to connect with randoms and strangers and, when I talk to people who aren't Christian and I don't have a lot in common with, one common ground I can often find with them is sport, because I, I like sport.
Jarrod Stackelroth: I know a lot about sport, cricket, football, basketball, you name it. I can probably hold a conversation about it. And so [00:28:00] that is helpful to me. That is helpful when I can form a connection and perhaps have a longer conversation that might go on to deeper things rather than just like, Oh, hey, how's it going?
Jarrod Stackelroth: Yeah. Well, what about that weather? , okay. Yep. Well, nice to see you. , this was awkward, you know, and then I have nothing else to talk about. Whereas the cultural moment that is the Olympics gives us something in common. I would feel. That signs article that you mentioned, I feel confident to share that Signs magazine with a neighbor or a friend because I'm like, well, they know the Olympics.
Jarrod Stackelroth: They're watching the Olympics. We've got an interview with an Olympian. We've got an interview with someone who's taking part. , And I should say, has a Christian faith. We covered a story, , after the last Olympics about, Nicola McDermott, Ollie Sager's now, after she got married, who really. I admired so much for speaking out about her Christian faith on national commercial television.
Jarrod Stackelroth: After her interview, she talked about [00:29:00] God and Jesus and how that saved her, that helped her. That, , was something that she went to as part of her motivation for why she jumps. , so to see that sort of balance. On TV to see that sort of opportunity for people to share their faith. It's an arena sport where it's very hard to share your faith normally, but in sports, somehow these sports people are starting to do it.
Jarrod Stackelroth: You know, you see a lot of the Polynesian players pray together after an NRL game, for example. That to me is a wonderful witness on our television screen. So for me, yes, there is an opportunity to make Christianity something that is a acceptable, a bit of a way to connect with people through sport, we can talk about our faith in that arena a little bit more freely.
Jarrod Stackelroth: We have,
Zanita Fletcher: , we have a comment here, which is helpful. Lynelle said, perhaps it's not our call as each situation is relative. A New Zealand athlete today has announced retirement by [00:30:00] saying she wants a normal life. She's in her late 30s, be able to eat Maccas and maybe have some Children.
Zanita Fletcher: Are we to judge her life choices given that she used this perhaps as a career choice in one stage of her life when she was able
Jarrod Stackelroth: Well, that's the thing. You can be a lawyer or a doctor and choose not to have children or choose to, , focus on that and not have a great work life balance. So I don't think it's related to sport or not to sport.
Jarrod Stackelroth: , Everyone does, does their own way. , it's Anita. I've made some notes. Okay. So
Zanita Fletcher: we bring this home. How are we making this
Jarrod Stackelroth: to end on a practical note? Something that I got from you was that it's good to have a work life balance. Another thing that I got is good to care for the poor and to,, not be taken in or deceived by, things behind the scenes,, whether it's in history or other things.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Hitler was using the games to promote. Are these games being used to promote or [00:31:00] propagate any agenda that we should be aware of. That's certainly something we can keep wary of. We should look as Christians for ways to redeem the culture that we are in. We can carry our cross like Jesus did in how we respond to criticism or offense.
Jarrod Stackelroth: , and also we need to find ways to, we talk about it a bit on record live, connect to our community and can the Olympics be a way that we can do that? So ding, ding, there's the final bell. Who wins the round? I don't know. You decide if you're watching.
Jarrod Stackelroth: My hope is that Jesus wins this round. All glory to God, because that's the reality. We should be, as Christians, looking for ways, wrestling with our faith each and every day, and how we interact with the world around us, and how we interact with major events, how we interact with people who are interested in those events.
Jarrod Stackelroth: God [00:32:00] cares about each and every one of them. And he cares about us. So I think for me, we've got to put Jesus at the forefront,, and making sure that, yeah, , we live out our Christian faith in a way that, , honors God and loves other people. I think that's it. I think that's where we land this plane.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Any final thoughts from you, Zenita?
Zanita Fletcher: No, it has been, it has been fun to debate. I have appreciated your thoughts and your comments, given me some food for thought. , and yeah, I hope that everyone listening has also just had some food for thought. Maybe it's something you haven't thought about or have disagreed with, but yeah, I hope it just gives you something to think about and ponder as the Olympics go on and probably will go on.
Zanita Fletcher: yeah, thank you for those who have been engaging and liking and commenting. And Jared, it has been great to debate.
Jarrod Stackelroth: Thank you, Zanita. We'll see you all again next week. God bless. [00:33:00]