Friday Tournaments?
 
Many players ask me why the Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy holds Friday/Saturday tournaments.  Before I answer that question, I just want to build a little context.
 
Playing ping pong on Sunday is not a sin.  In fact, I think that it is a great family sport, great for the mind, great for the body, and it is a social activity that helps bring families together.  There is no commandment in the Bible forbidding ping pong Sundays.  For me personally, I strongly prefer to play tournaments on Fridays and Saturdays and rest on Sunday.  Why?  Because God who created us and knows our bodies more than we could ever know, says that man should work 6 days and rest 1.  We see this from the account of creation as recorded in Genesis.  We see in the 10 commandments the command to rest on the sabbath.  In the new testament, it isn’t called the sabbath, but it is called the Lord’s day (Sunday).  The new testament Christians gathered together to worship on the Lord’s day.  I don’t see in the new testament a complete list of don't-do-this and don't-do-that on the Lord's day.  But the New Testament does tell us what to do....  worship by reading the Bible, praying, hearing the Word preached, partaking of the sacraments, and singing. For the Christian, it is a JOY to worship on Sunday, it should not feel like an obligation.  For all eternity in heaven, we will be worshipping out of a love for Christ and what he has done on the cross and the salvation given to us that we don't deserve.  
 
So going back to the Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy tournaments…
I want my coaches, my students, and my tournament participants to spend the Lord’s day in worship.  That is why I hold Friday/Saturday tournaments.  Will I be less successful than people who hold Sat/Sun tournaments?  Possibly.  But that is ok.  Regardless if God chooses to bless my programs or not, it is ok.  He can choose to bless it.  The success of the Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy doesn’t rest on successful tournament, my coaching abilities, product development, or international sales.  The success rests in God and his blessings that he gives.  One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Ps 127 Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.  Unless God blesses my table tennis program, all that I’m doing is in vain.
 
So will I ever play in Sunday tournaments?  I have in the past and I will very rarely in the future.  It is a great sport that I see my family doing together for the rest of our lives.  However, it is a matter of priorities.  Even though I like competing in tournaments, I much prefer going to church with my family, worshipping God.  That is what we will be doing for eternity – worshipping God!