ABSTRACT
The value of work is honored because it is deemed an essential part of human life. If work, at its most basic level, is the expenditure of energy, then an incredible amount of work gets done on a daily basis in the sports world. Sports disclose the value placed on the American work ethic, through the stories of Performance-Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) in particular, because of its deep ties to working hard in general. Work continues to be thought of primarily as a character-building enterprise rather than a punishment as one move into the New Testament. The tie between work and religion is one that people may struggle to make when thinking about either. The Bible is not considered a primary source for the work ethic displayed in the citizenry throughout American history. It traces its origins not to the Bible or to the early Christian Church but, according to Max Weber, to John Calvin writing in sixteenth-century Europe.
