Day 28: Sports
1: Scripture
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." 1 Corinthians 9:24-25
2: Connection Point
As athletes, we train hard to achieve multiple goals. For instance, a track athlete will put in the effort to practice running before each race. Their goal maybe to win first place or beat a record. However, the prize or feeling they get for winning is only temporary.
Being an athlete, I have experienced achieving these temporary goals. However, these goals never satisfied me and only made me want to achieve more goals. I ended up training way more than I needed to and engulfed my life with soccer. I was able to make my school soccer team, win tournaments, win championships, and make my club premier and traveling team just to find myself extremely STRESSED and INSECURE about myself.
The sport that I loved to play only pulled me further away from the one thing that I need... GOD. That made me question, if God gave me a talent to play soccer, why did it pull me away from Him? The answer to this question was revealed to me when I was suffering from pain in my knees and back. My doctor told me that doing soccer and track everyday with no break had ended up killing my knees and told me to take a break and do rehab. However, after months of rehab, there was only a little bit of improvement. I ended up quitting. This was probably the hardest time of my life.
As time went by, I started getting more involved in the Church. Through this I was able find that soccer didn't define who I was, but God does. I'm not saying that we should stop playing sports, but I do believe that once we let it become the center of our lives, it will never fulfill us compared to when we have Him be the center of our lives.
3: Journaling/prayers
- How much time do you spend playing sports compared to spending time with God?
- Does it look like God is the center of your life?