Seven days into the sixteen-day Summer Olympiad, patience is running thin.

From the blasphemous opening ceremonies to a male boxer legally breaking the nose of a female competitor, many Christian viewers have had enough.

“Don’t watch the Olympics!” writes Daily Citizen reader Martin Nelson. “Not watching games,” agrees Christine Garon.

Daily Citizen Facebook follower Kelli Chastain is similarly disgusted. “If this is how France is and wishes to be conveyed to the entire world, mark it off my list of places to visit. What a shame. It could’ve been the best Opening Ceremony. Using the river instead of a stadium was genius.” Darlene Tucker writes for many when she says, “This is my first year not watching … I am a Christian and couldn’t watch trash.”

Reader Sue Champion appears to be watching – but has a warning. “Put on the full armor of faith and hang on tight to Christ!” she writes. “We’re in for a bumpy ride!”

After the Last Supper was mocked last Friday night, many understandably turned the games off and haven’t turned them back on. How and what we spend our time on is a reflection of many things, especially our morals, values, and priorities.

The Olympics have long been a reflection of our times and culture, a flashpoint – and an event that elicits lots of debate and difference of opinion.

Many of us grew up hearing about the United States’ Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. As it was, there were many who thought America should boycott the games altogether, which promised to be a propaganda tool for Adolf Hitler. Aware of Germany’s racism, the NAACP didn’t think we should compete. But Owens disagreed.

The sight of the track star saluting on the medal stand, surrounded by athletes and officials giving the Nazi salute, is iconic and wonderfully defiant. Hitler famously snubbed Owens and other Americans, but the success of the United States’ athletes actually upstaged the dictator, stealing some of the spotlight he desperately craved. Through their grit and success, they managed to redeem what many feared would be a total loss.

Could a similar redemption be possible in Paris these next nine days? After all, what’s happening in France is, in many ways, what’s happening everywhere else. Pondering this question, two passages of Scripture come to mind:

Said Joseph to his brothers, who had dumped him in a well and sold him into slavery, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20).

Wrote the apostle Paul to Christians in Rome, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (8:28).

It may remain to be seen exactly how the Lord will use last Friday’s mockery for good, but it’s been a long time (if ever) since so many have all at once Googled Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting. Experts remain somewhat divided over whether the artist was capturing the moment Christ revealed one of them would betray Him or instead was preparing to share the bread and wine before them.

Either way, the painting raises good dialogue about profound truths, especially Jesus offering Himself as a sacrifice to save us from our sins. Even a casual looker will learn that from a quick search. Controversies can instigate curiosities that leave the curious wanting to know more.

Many are wondering if the outrageousness of Algerian male boxer Imane Khelif pummeling female boxer Angela Carini will serve as a tipping point to rein in the madness of gender make believe.

“Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better?” tweeted outspoken critic, author J.K. Rowling. “The smirk of a male who knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”

Like every Olympics, there are standouts and uplifting stories.

Earlier this week, the Daily Citizen reported on 16-year-old Brazilian skateboarder Rayssa Leal who was told not to share her faith, but decided to use sign language to share John 14:6 as she received her silver medal.

The verse reads: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6, ESV).

Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Katie Ledecky, who won going away earlier this week in the 1500m, and won two other medals, has discussed the power of prayer in her life. Other Christian Olympians to root for include swimmer Caeleb Dressel and gymnast Brody Malone.

“I give all the glory to God first and foremost,” says Malone. “I have to give glory to God. He’s the only reason I’m standing here.”

Christians who choose to hang in there and watch the Olympics until its end a week from Sunday will find encouraging storylines and redeeming aspects involving both believers and even unbelievers. That’s because the Lord is always at work. He cannot be mocked. He is in the middle of the mud, the mundane and the magnificent, inviting the burdened and promising them rest (Matthew 11:28).

The Olympics can be redeemed, because God is in the business of Redemption, promising to restore and make all things new (Rev. 21:5).

Image credit: AP