Honouring God Above All
02 Aug 2024
The abiding inspiration of Eric Liddell
As we cheer on British Olympians at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, it is well worth remembering that it is exactly 100 years since Eric Liddell spectacularly won gold in the 1924 Olympics held in the very same city.
A matter of principle
It’s a profoundly inspiring story. Liddell was the fastest sprinter in the UK and went to Paris as Britain’s great hope for gold in the 100 metres. But just before he and the British Olympic team arrived in the French capital, he discovered that the 100m heats were to be held on a Sunday. As a committed Christian, he was keenly aware that this would be breaking one of the Ten Commandments, which exhorts us to honour the Sabbath.
What a dilemma. How could he let himself and his country down over such a pedantic rule? Surely his first duty was to his nation?
Matters were made worse by the press, along with a number of influential authority figures, including the Prince of Wales, putting pressure on him to deny his conscience, to stop being so ridiculous and to run!
How could he let himself and his country down over such a pedantic rule? Surely his first duty was to his nation?
But there was no question in Liddell’s mind. The athlete knew it was better to obey God rather than man, and at the risk of becoming a source of mockery and contempt to many in his home nation, he pulled out of the race, resolutely keeping his eyes set on the Lord his God.
He who honours me …
Fortunately, a colleague, Lord Andrew Lindsay, graciously sacrificed his own place in the 400m final – he had already won silver in the hurdles – so that Eric could compete.
Liddell duly won a courageous race in a world record time after an American rival handed him a piece of paper reminding him of the Scripture that “He who honours me, I will honour” (1 Sam 2:30).
Amidst so much vacuous virtue-signalling from activists, sportsmen and celebrities these days, Liddell’s brave stand for integrity, decency and dedication to God continues to inspire. And the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire is a wonderful testament to his courage. A truly memorable line from the film is that “compromise is the language of the devil”.
Harold Abrahams
The movie isn’t solely about Liddell, though. It also focuses on his team-mate and arch-rival Harold Abrahams, a Jewish student at Cambridge for whom running appeared to be an end in itself rather than a means of praising God as in Eric’s case.
A truly memorable line from the film is that “compromise is the language of the devil”.
Abrahams clearly had something to prove, with prejudice against fellow Jews probably part of the picture (as my Jewish grandmother also experienced at this time - Charles).
Harold duly won gold in the 100m, but inevitably fell into a state of despondency afterwards. Had he been forced to justify his entire existence in that ten-second sprint? Unlike Liddell, he lacked contentment. “I am 24, and I’ve never known it,” his character confesses in the film.
Move of the Spirit
But Liddell believed his sporting talent was a gift from God, and he testified that it was He who “made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure”. Eric was super fit, and indeed, had also played rugby as a winger for Scotland, winning an impressive seven caps in the early 1920s.
By this time, even prior to his Olympic success, Liddell was one of the best-known sportsmen in Scotland. Though it's not well known, in the spring of 1923, he took part in an evangelistic campaign across the central belt, during a season of general spiritual awakening across the land. He, and other students, spoke in theatres, churches, schools, colleges and even pubs.
“It is no exaggeration”, observed one of the organisers, “to say that thousands were deeply moved and stirred by the straightforward, manly message of … Eric Liddell…Young men and boys were led in larger number of cases, I am persuaded, than either of us was ever likely to know of, to invest their lives in the service of the Lord and Master that Eric set out so winsomely.”
... thousands were deeply moved and stirred by the straightforward, manly message of … Eric Liddell
It soon became very clear to everyone that knew him that despite the competitive nature of his sport, his security, contentment and joy were not dependent on the outcome of a race or game. Rather, his life was centred on Christ, and on obeying the will of God. Soon, he sensed a calling to share the love of Jesus in far-flung places.
To China
In the very prime of his competitive athletics career, and just a year after his Olympic win, Eric said goodbye to his national fame, and set out to be a missionary to China. Here he sadly died in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp during World War II.
That, too, is a deeply inspiring story, ever focused on serving the Lord, he sought to keep up the spirits of fellow inmates through his love for Jesus.
Eric organised competitive sport as recreation for the inmates. When he was asked why he did that even on Sundays, he answered that God knew these vulnerable kids in the camp needed it and Sunday was their only day free from work.
In this he proved he was no legalist. “He didn’t wear his religion on his hip”, his daughter later recalled; “he was a very modest family man.”
When he was asked why he did that even on Sundays, he answered that God knew these vulnerable kids in the camp needed it and Sunday was their only day free from work.
Pure Gold
Langdon Gilkey, who survived the austere prison camp, said “It is rare indeed that a person has the good fortune to meet a saint, but he came as close to it as anyone I have ever known.”
Scottish evangelist D. P. Thompson got to know Liddell intimately, and developed a huge regard for this godly man. “I have never known a finer character in all my varied experience”, he wrote. “He is pure gold through and through.”
On 15 July 2024, Edinburgh University awarded Eric Liddell a posthumous doctorate, received by his only surviving daughter, Patricia, now in her 90th year. It cited that “Liddell’s story remains a beacon of inspiration, reminding us of the enduring power of faith, courage and commitment to others.”
Liddell was, simply one of the most compelling human narratives in Olympic history. In today’s world, where so much orthodox Christianity has been watered down, we desperately need to recapture the spirit of men like Liddell.
Putting God first
And the question of the Sabbath, no longer widely regarded as important, is in fact still a big issue. It’s just that we (in Britain and the West) have become so used to ignoring it – and hence the gradual effect has been like the frog in the slowly boiling pot.
Liddell was, simply one of the most compelling human narratives in Olympic history.
Keeping the Sabbath is still the fourth of the Ten Commandments. But ever since Sunday trading was legalised in Britain, we have been inexorably sliding down the slippery slope of immorality and degradation.
May we, like Liddell, seek God’s purposes in our lives above all else and, with Holy Spirit fire, challenge the empty dogma of a world out of kilter with its Maker.
Additional Info
Author:
Tom Lennie and Charles Gardner