How the World Cup inspires awe

When humans move together with passion in one direction, we are like so many droplets of water in a tsunami. Nowhere is this clearer than the World Cup. 

Though I’m from Texas, my wife and I currently live in Edinburgh, Scotland. This was the first time in 28 years that Scotland qualified for the World Cup. We witnessed great energy and excitement at a watch party when the first match kicked off at 2 a.m., UK time. The match was on Saturday night—Sunday morning, technically—but Scotland made Monday a temporary national holiday. That tells you how seriously the Scotts took the game. The match was electric and close. Sadly, Scotland didn’t make the playoffs by a kilt’s fringe. 

It was also fun to watch the Scottish fans, called the Tartan Army, go viral in the US. The Tartan Army wore kilts, marched up and down downtown streets to bagpipes, and sang and chanted with gusto. Not to mention their head-scratching prank: putting cones on the heads of statues. Reportedly, in a more negative light, many pubs and bars ran out of beer in Boston. Good and questionable, the Tartan Army has made a name for itself.

Or take Norway. They’ve been making the rounds on social media for their chants and rowing in unison—like the Vikings of old in longboats. That might not sound impressive until you witness tens of thousands of fans yelling gutturally, “row, row, row!”  

As any CEO, pastor, or manager knows, getting multiple people on the same page feels like wading through sand. Why do some ideas, events, and visions create such passion and others fade into obscurity? Put another way, how do crowds form—and stay? The answer is worth billions. FIFA’s revenue from 2022 to 2026 is projected to come to around $13 billion.

The answer lies in the sense of being a part.  

The power of belonging

The feeling of being a part is perhaps the most powerful human experience. But no one really belongs for belonging’s sake. As my Dad, Chris Legg, likes to say, no one pursues diversity for diversity’s sake. Instead, diversity is an effect. It’s downstream of a shared value. This is true of the Christian faith, as well as all religions, sports teams, and national cultures. 

These shared values are like a magnetic force. They pull us in and together. 

So, what inspires us toward a value that brings us together? In soccer, there’s a sense of belonging amid the highs and lows, a sense of national identity, participation in a sport you might play yourself, and shared admiration for raw human skill. There’s also an undeniable sense of awe. 

The anatomy of awe

The social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that awe is a spiritual, or “self-transcendent” emotion. Haidt defends religion as an important pillar of society and human flourishing while being a secular Jew himself. Awe is a “moral emotion” and a transcendent experience—but it is not merely religious. It is about feeling small in the face of grandness and the opening up of possibilities. 

For example, a large military parade might inspire awe. So might a mountain. Or a professional hitting a ball hard with their foot. Watching a 6’5” man leap five feet into the air and bicycle kick a ball between defenders into a goal, to the celebration of millions of people across the world, certainly inspires me with awe.

In these cases, I think awe is not a sin. But after awe, devotion and worship closely follow. Awe is spiritually treacherous. At the same time, it’s necessary for human society to flourish. Awe, for a Christian, is something that can be channeled into the fear of the Lord. When we are in awe of Yahweh, we are inspired to devotion and worship—to glorify. 

Perhaps we can glorify God through awe at an object by directing it toward its creator. The mountain inspires awe in us, but we glorify God because of it. We can proverbially “honor the emperor,” but cannot glorify or worship him (1 Peter 2:17). The same is true of America, or any nation, and its identity. Particularly politically, it’s very, very easy to substitute the created for the creator (Romans 1:25).

Directing our awe toward God

Although the markers of different teams might be different—whether they wear kilts, jerseys, or funny t-shirts—these are merely outward signs of inner commitment. These things do unite us, but the value, appreciation, and other emotional connections, like awe, are the essential components. The uniforms, the chants, the emotional connections, and the commitments are all electrical charges toward forming an energetic crowd revolving around some shared pursuit. Humans are designed for this connection, centered chiefly on our Creator. 

And so it is that we can achieve shared meaning, purpose, and value. We order our lives through devotion, honor, and worship toward the central object of awe and glory—God. Emotional experiences help this orienting process along. This is part of why church services include sung worship, sacraments like baptism, liturgies, the reading of Scripture, and prayer; in some traditions, this includes majestic artwork, architecture, and incense. 

Of course, this unification is a matter of identity. You’re either a part of Christ’s universal church or not. But these orthopraxies point us to the eternal truth of our belonging. Paul uses the metaphor of being parts of a body: 

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.  For the body does not consist of one member but of many. (1 Corinthians 12:12–14)

If you are baptized into this one body of Christ, how then should you live? Is your awe directed toward creation—even a person or movement—or its Creator? And does your worship flow in the same direction? 

Our relationships and community are of vital importance. Where do you feel like you belong, and where are you unified with others? Where does their awe and worship flow?

Most of us know that we should glorify God, and God alone. But in practice, as we could all attest to, it’s much, much harder to live this truth out. So, take the time with me to reflect on where your awe, devotion, worship, and glorification are directed.