What does this top snooker player teach us about true enjoyment?

Amid the biggest recent sporting headlines, such as Liverpool’s relentless march towards the Premier League title and Jannik Sinner’s doping ban, you may have missed the news from the snooker circuit that John Higgins won his first title in four years at the World open.

The veteran, 49, had not won on the tour since winning the 2021 Players Championship, but his triumphant run in Yushan, China made him the second oldest ranking event winner ever and oldest ranking event finalist since 1986. He defeated Joe O’Connor 10-6 in the final, having also equalled Ronnie O’Sullivan’s record of reaching 146 ranking event quarter finals earlier that week.

Nicknamed the ‘Wizard of Wishaw,’ Higgins is one of Scotland’s greatest snooker players, having won 32 ranking titles, and seems to have rediscovered his old magic in Yushan. However, the four-time world champion admitted after his win that he had wondered if he would ever win another tournament. He told the World Snooker Tour (WST) that the win was “a big monkey off his back,” having found himself on the wrong end of a seemingly ever-growing list of heartbreaking final defeats. He revealed that he had questioned whether he should keep playing at times, but now feels his hard work and perseverance were worthwhile.

Now, with snooker fast approaching the World Championship in April, Higgins will give himself at least an outside chance of securing a fifth world title, having lost in the final three times since his last triumph in 2011.

While Higgins possesses barrel loads of talent and natural ability, his match play, temperament and never-say-die attitude around the table have been vital in enabling him to keep competing with the best players for so long. However, another factor is undoubtedly his love for playing the game and simply being out there competing at all.

We can observe from many examples that when the enjoyment and overall perspective is not there, sports stars struggle to motivate themselves to carry on. This is perhaps best evidenced by contrasting Higgins with Scotland’s greatest ever player, Stephen Hendry, who retired thirteen years ago after becoming fed up of winning less often than he used to in his prime, even though he was getting older.

There is clear application from this to be applied to our Christian lives; while maintaining our spiritual disciplines can sometimes feel like a grind, and while we would sometimes rather do other things instead, it is vital for our long-term walk with God that we learn to enjoy Him, and our walk with Him.

Being a Christian is a life-long commitment and if it never or rarely becomes deeper than going through the motions after the initial excitement of conversion wears off, then we leave ourselves susceptible to backsliding and falling away, preferring other pursuits instead.

While not all our readers will adhere to the content of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, it very helpfully describes man’s chief end as to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever,” which effectively illustrates that if we live our lives with the primary objective of obeying God above all else, then we will reap the benefits and complete fulfilment of enjoying our relationship with Him as we please Him, providing the means of true satisfaction for our lives.

Let’s take lessons from Higgins’ long-awaited triumph which has tested his enjoyment of the game and long-term perspective of his career to the limit, by seeking to enjoy God, as loving and enjoying His attributes leaves us well-placed to constantly become more like Him and understand His plans throughout our lives. What could ever be more enjoyable than that?