The 2024 Summer Olympics began officially yesterday. Since it is being held in Paris, the opening ceremony was shown in the afternoon for us in Georgia. I greatly appreciate the convenience!

I do look forward to many of the events during the Olympic games. I pull for our nation’s athletes as they compete against the world’s best. I keep up with the medal count to see how we’re doing. I even try to follow some of the athletes from the University of North Carolina (my alma mater) who are competing in various competitions, though they may be doing so for other nations.

I run hot and cold on the opening ceremonies. Sometimes the performances and presentations are incredible. At other times, the event seemed to drag on and on. Yesterday’s rainy opening ceremony in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower had its moments. I liked the idea of the boat parade, but it seemed to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r. In fact, while it was going on I left my house, took some trash to the dump, and got back in plenty of time to see the American athletes sail by.

The mechanical horse bringing the Olympic flag was pretty cool, but this impatient American grew weary of the pace as it glided down the Seine. Admittedly, I started looking at the flag cape thinking it might fly off into the river. The light show on the Eiffel Tower was impressive. The lighting of the Olympic caldron was pretty cool, though the “journey” of the torch was a bit odd – okay, a lot odd. And Celine Dion majestically sang “L’Hymme a L’amour,” made all the more impressive knowing how much she suffers with stiff persons disease.

One of the “performances” I missed when I made my trash run was a LGBTQ+ mockery of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” In the pictures and video I have seen since, it is evident this drag show was intended to confront and offend those who revere Jesus. What other conclusion could be drawn? It was not an artistic performance but an outrageous and intentional insult to both Jesus Christ and the 2.4 billion people in the world who claim to worship Him. And that episode was just one among many that made the opening ceremony anything other than child-friendly. NBC, of course, chose to not only show it but celebrate it.

One of the moments that seemed to be intensely moving for many viewing the event only evoked sadness from me. The beautiful voice of Juliette Armanet sang John Lennon’s “Imagine” as she and pianist Sofiane Pamart motored down the Seine on their boat-stage. Admittedly, it was a beautiful rendition of what has come to be known as the unofficial anthem of the Olympics, but the lyrics always break my heart. Consider what the song says:

Imagine there’s no heaven … no hell … only the sky above …
Imagine people were simply living for today …
Imagine there is no religion …

Lennon’s song is about achieving peace and harmony in a world that is utterly secular. In other words, we have no need for God or religion. Heaven and hell are illusions intended to keep us in check. What matters is that we live today in peace. The song may be moving and the melody pleasing, but the message declares, “We do not need God. We can be our own gods. We can recreate creation in our image. Get rid of borders and religion, and everybody will be healthy, well-fed, love one another, and live happily ever after.” Those lyrics are not a recipe for world peace but for utter chaos! It is the lie of the serpent in lyrical form.

So, this is where I call for a ban of the Olympics and all the companies that advertise products on it, right? No. Let me offer these as an alternative:

1. Be aware that there is a massive undercurrent of anti-Christian sentiment in the world today. No one would dare publicly mock any other religion the way Christianity is mocked.
2. Know that the Lord sees and knows and will act in His time. Just as King Hezekiah laid out the mocking letter from Assyria’s King Sennacherib before the Lord (2 Kings 19) and trusted the Lord to act, we, too, must take these things to God and seek His direction as we respond. Remember, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)
3. Pray for the Christian athletes and coaches who are participating, the Christian families that are present, and the faithful French believers scattered throughout the crowds. Pray that their light will so shine in the “city of light” that people will turn their hearts toward the Lord. Pray for their strength and the strength of their witness!
4. Always, always, always monitor the influence of media on your children and grandchildren. You cannot assume that secular programing is safe or benign. The influence of godlessness is massive in every area of media.
5. Remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). This is spiritual warfare. You may want to rant on social media. You may want to use worldly tactics to accomplish godly ends. But this battle will not be won on Facebook, X (Twitter), Tik Tok, or Fox News; it must be fought in prayer!
6. Guide your children and grandchildren. With so many influences on the younger generation, you may feel that yours is feeble and useless. It is not. We must take responsibility for the spiritual education and social guidance of our own families. If we do not, I assure you that there are many who will.

Some have equated the haunting mechanical horse making its journey up the Seine in Paris to one of the four horses in Revelation. I’m not sure what was intended by that horse, but it was part of an overall ceremony that was surely revealing of the way of the world. Our place in that world is to be salt and light, to be ambassadors for Christ, to be people who live lives set apart for God. We may not have the influence of NBC, but we have something greater. We have the Almighty Lord of Hosts who will bring all things to His conclusion. And we are promised that one day, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)