Tag Archives: Don’t Waste Your Sports

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 The gospel is the center of what we believe as Christians. If someone asked you to explain the gospel, how would you explain it? What is the problem? What is the solution? (Hint: check out Romans 3:10–26 or 1 Corinthians 15:3–4.) Does your passion for sports exceed your passion for the Savior, your church, your family? In an average week, how much time do you invest…

My swimming career—along with every other sport I played—is a pathetic example of how not to play sports to the glory of God. As I look back, I now realize just how proud I was. The pool and the field were my stage, my opportunity to glorify myself—or at least try to. The countless swim meets and basketball, football, and baseball games were wasted opportunities. At every event, I wanted to be noticed. I wanted applause. Come to think of…

We’ve been talking about how we can glorify God on the playing field—about how 1 Corinthians 10:31 applies to our sports. This passage of Scripture was written almost 2000 years ago. The apostle Paul was writing to people who were confused about eating steaks that had been offered as sacrifices to idols. It sounds like another world, one hardly relevant to us or to sports. Does anyone worship idols today? If Paul were writing another letter and addressing it to…

Remember what we said earlier about God’s glory being displayed in Jesus Christ? Well here is something that should blow our minds. Scripture says that Jesus, even though he was God, “made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7). Athletes, this is your example to follow. Whether you’re the star player or the ball boy, team captain or the last substitute, you can glorify God by finding ways to serve others. Here are some ideas: Encourage your…