Last week I discussed how people are either driven by love or fear. According to John Lennon, “There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love.” Today, I wanted to show how these motives are lived out. I will examine Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell from the movie Chariots of Fire.

Harold Abrahams

There are three conversations that shows the heart and mindset of Harold Abrahams. The first comes while he is at dinner with Sybil Gordon:

Harold was always an outsider because he was a Jew in a Protestant world. No matter what he did he never quite fit in and was never fully accepted. If he couldn’t be accepted just for being himself, he had to earn his place in society by being the best runner.

The next scene shows Harold after he lost a race to Eric Liddell. A distraught Abrahams was lamenting to Sybil, to which she said:

Being the best was his sole motivation. He had no joy in competing, only in winning. Coming in second was almost enough for him to give up running altogether.

In the final scene, Abrahams is getting ready to run in the 100 meter dash final at the Olympics. He is speaking to his best friend (Aubrey), sharing his fears and doubts about the race.

Harold M. Abrahams: You, Aubrey, are my most complete man. You’re brave, compassionate, kind: a content man. That is your secret – contentment; I am 24 and I’ve never known it. I’m forever in pursuit, and I don’t even know what I am chasing . . . And now, in one hour’s time, I will be out there again. I will raise my eyes and look down that corridor – 4 feet wide, with 10 lonely seconds to justify my whole existence. But will I? Aubrey, I’ve known the fear of losing – but now I am almost too frightened to win.

Never feeling contentment, constantly striving, feeling that his entire worth depends on winning this race. It is heartbreaking to hear Harold share the burden he feels. If you are reading this, you likely aren’t preparing to win an Olympic gold medal. But are there other ways that you are trying to justify your existence? Is it through a relationship? a job? an accomplishment?

Eric Liddell

Eric Liddell also represented Britain in the Olympic Games. The challenges that he faced seem to be more external than internal. The first opposition to his running came from his sister. She believed that running track was a waste of time and that Eric should go back to China to serve as a missionary. He tells his sister:

Eric Liddell: I believe that God made me for a purpose, for China. But he also made me fast. And when I run I feel his pleasure. To give it up would be to hold him in contempt.

Eric was secure in who God made him to be. For Harold Abrahams, running was a weapon, a means of earning acceptance from a society who saw him as an outsider. For Eric Liddell, running was a form of worship. He knew that he was loved and accepted by God, so he didn’t have to run to justify his existence. “When I run I feel his pleasure.” He felt freedom to use the gifts that God gave him to the best of his abilities.

Eric was so secure in his identity in Christ that he refused to run a race on the Sabbath. He had a strong conviction to keep the Lord’s day holy, and for him that meant that he would give up a chance at winning an Olympic gold medal in order to follow God. In doing so, he upset a lot of people and was accused of not loving his country. Because he knew that he was loved and accepted by God, he didn’t need the approval of people.

Love or Fear?

When you consider your life, do you feel more like Harold Abrahams or Eric Liddell? Do you work hard in order to earn love or do you work hard because you are loved?

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). When I see Harold Abrahams I don’t see a man who is free. I see a man who is scared, burdened, and angry. When I see Eric Liddell, I see passion, courage, peace, and joy. He knows who he is and what his purpose is.

God offers you this same freedom. Jesus died on the cross for all the wrong things you have done, thought, or said. If you have faith in Jesus you can be accepted into God’s family forever. You can’t earn this love and acceptance, rather Jesus earned it on your behalf. In Christ, we can live, work, and love freely and lightly.

Pastor Tim Keller wrote, “If our identity is in our work, rather than in Christ, success will go to our heads, and failure will go to our hearts.” If we are defined by what we do, we will boast when things go well and wallow in self-hatred or live in denial when things go poorly. We were made for more.