Remarks by the Honourable Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs

Hon. Harries Bulunga

AT THE LAUNCH OF THE 2019 BIBLE SOCIETY CUP

AT ROYAL SWAZI SPA

WEDNESDAY, 15 MAY 2019

Honourable Minister of Home Affairs

Principal Secretaries

Senior Government officials present

Bible Society CEO and your staff

Pastors and church leaders

Club representatives

Supporters present

Members of the media

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my honour to join you here this morning for the launch of this, the 2019 Bible Society Cup.

I take this moment, first and foremost, to thank the Bible Society for having extended this partnership with football for yet another year. It is indeed humbling to see an esteemed organisation such as the Bible Society joining hands with sport. I hope that such launches will be the norm for many more years.

I have been given the duty of addressing this gathering on the importance of the Bible and Sports. Now, as a person who regularly touches base with his Bible, I received this request with excitement. I know that this would have been a mammoth task for those whose Bibles are collecting dust at their homes.

As an introductory note, I should state that the Bible Society’s involvement in sport, particularly football, is vital in addressing one of the biggest myths on the church and sport. Many forms of sport, particularly football, have been portrayed as ‘ungodly’ and for a long time, many believers have been afraid to follow their various sporting passions. To have the Bible Society take the lead by taking the Bible into the Soccer field destroys that stereotype and now Christians are able to enjoy their various sporting passions which even go beyond football.

Now, the Bible, just like Sports in many ways, is a way of life. The Bible, which, as we know, is the Word of God, lays down clearly the do’s and don’ts of Christian life. In doing so, the Bible also uses many sporting examples to inspire, warn and guide believers. One of the most known of these is found in 2nd Timothy 4 verses 7-8 where the Apostle Paul says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day.”

This verse uses two sporting analogies to inspire believers, that of ‘fighting the good fight’ and ‘finishing the race.’ In the same in sport we talk about the importance of sportsmanship and perseverance. The Bible sets the foundation for the creation of morally upright human beings. It is in the Bible where we find guidance as well as inspiration as to how we are to live and interact with other people.

Therefore, before we can talk about success in the field or track, we need to develop human beings of good moral standards first. The Bible helps us create that foundation because an athlete who has been taught from a tender age the importance of differentiating between right and wrong, will be able to refrain from doping and age-cheating, for example.

In sport, we talk about many values, including integrity, hardwork and accountability, all which are promoted by the Bible. Moreover, partaking in sport comes with a lot of positives including health and even financial benefits.

Therefore, the Bible and sport complement each other. As the Society and churches spread the word of God, it is our duty as sports people to play our part too in developing not just athletes and officials but men and women of good standing in society. We should do this through ensuring the promotion of sportsmanship, integrity and all those values which ultimately contribute to the creation of morally upright human beings.

As a parting note, let us remember as sports people that God has given us different talents and it is our duty to nourish and take care of those talents as seen in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. Terefore, these abilities which God has blessed us with we shouldn’t hide but instead we should use them graciously for the betterment of the larger society.

As I conclude, I would like to once again thank the Bible Society for partnering with us for yet another year. We are honoured and proud to be a part of this beautiful marriage. I now urge all sport loving people to support the Bible Society by purchasing Bibles and playing an active part during the 2019 Bible in the Soccer Field initiative. It is my hope that the 2019 edition of the Bible Society Cup will be a success.

I thank you all.

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