As a quizzer, it is preached to us that we should not forget the chief reason for why we quiz. The winning and competition is fun, but the more important matter is how the Scripture affects your life. Quizzing is intended to assist you not only by learning it in your head but also by living it in your heart.
Quizzing is one of the few competitive activities in which all who participate are winners. You may lose the Bible Quiz battle, but you have progressed in the Spiritual War. That is what the leaders preach.
Is it true? It sounds good. But are many quizzers actually affected in such a longterm way as they suggest?
As a quizzer, I was stuck in the middle. I am competitive. I am very competitive. As an individual, I am competitive; as a team, Athens was very competitive. We took every little situation and made a game out of it. We always wanted to win! So, I was stuck in the middle.
Of course, I knew that what was being taught as the principle reason for Bible Quizzing was correct, but I wondered if we had just conjured that up to make the losers feel better. Don’t get me wrong: I wanted to learn as much as possible and use it in areas much more important than Bible Quiz. But in my un-prioritized selfish way, I wanted to win a national championship more than I wanted to have portions of the Scripture scripted in my life.
Is that completely wrong? I am not yet sure. Maybe you can give me your opinions on the message board.
You may wonder where this article is going. Now, here’s the point: I have recently come to the realization that Bible Quiz is so much more important than the actual competition. They (our leaders and teachers) said that it was more important, and now I believe them.
Here is why. In California, Governor Schwarzenegger has just signed a bill that initiates a law that would make speaking any anti-homosexual comment from a church pulpit illegal. The Bible certainly isn’t illegal; but if the law progresses, you can guess that Romans 1 would be considered as an anti-homesexual comment.
My intent isn’t to get too political in this article, but to suggest that the Scripture is beginning to be questioned in states in our country.
I am thankful for the fun that I had while quizzing. I am thankful for the excitement that winning a national championship provided. But now, besides the pictures and trophies, the fun and excitement means little. What means more is that I have God’s word sketched in my mind.
Quizzers, I have a word of admonition for you. Have fun while you are quizzing, but please don’t take it for granted when you can walk into a room with your fellow quizzers to study and see tens of Bibles laying around. We know that Christians in other countries can’t have them, but now we may be one of the last generations to really have real freedom. “Learn what you can, can what you learn!”