One of the definitions of the term olympian is “surpassing all others in scope and effect” (American Heritage Dictionary). This definition certainly applies to the sexual appetites of the athletes in the Olympic Village this week in Vancouver. Continuing the trend of recent Olympiads in Sydney (70,000) and Beijing (100,000), Canadian officials ordered and distributed 100,000 condoms to athletes for the Vancouver Olympics. That averages to 14 for each athlete.
In explaining the hedonism of the Olympic athletes, former Olympic skier Picabo Street said, “It’s hundreds of auras, which does lead to a huge movement of energy. It’s not normal, resting energy. It’s jacked-up, hyped-up, on-the-brink-of-my-dream-coming-true, got-to-get-it, got-to-do-it energy, and it’s there all the time.”
The preceding quote came from an article written by Daniel Kolbiaka on the nesn.com website. The writer, amazingly, has the ability to write with a straight face the following words in the context of Street’s quote, “Olympians represent their home nations with their event performances and their public behavior. All of the athletes take this responsibility seriously.” He basically contends that despite the excessive sexual activity, the athletes are somehow acting in a responsible and discreet manner. As Street commented, “Olympians are surprisingly mature, no matter what age. It’s required of you. If you act like an idiot, you really stand out.”
With apologies to Picabo Street, man does not have the right to arbitrarily define what is or is not mature and acceptable behavior. This type of licentious behavior has been described by the Lord as characteristic of “natural brute beasts” (2 Peter 2:12). Albert Barnes has some cogent thoughts on Peter’s words:
The idea is, that they exercised no more restraint over their passions than beasts do over their propensities. They were entirely under the dominion of their natural appetites, and did not allow their reason or conscience to exert any constraint. The word rendered brute, means without reason; irrational. Man has reason, and should allow it to control his passions; the brutes have no rational nature, and it is to be expected that they will act out their propensities without restraint. Man, as an animal, has many passions and appetites resembling those of the brute creation, but he is also endowed with a higher nature, which is designed to regulate and control his inferior propensities, and to keep them in subordination to the requirements of law.
There is nothing mature about sexual promiscuity. There is nothing laudable about it at all. To explain it away with the classic “young people will be young people” rationale is characteristic of our time, and is yet another example of the presently sad state of affairs in which we find the world.
Remember these classic words of the apostle Paul, “although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:21-22). Because of their foolishness, Paul wrote, “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves” (vs. 24).
We have a choice. We may act like animals without restraint, or we may live righteously before God. It seems that many Olympians have chosen carnality over righteousness. It is the way of the world. May we all choose rather to “walk worthy of the calling with which [we] were called” (Ephesians 4:1).
