Competing with a Greater Purpose

When things go right, praise and celebration usually follow. It feels good to be seen and noticed, even celebrated. But this can and will never be the source of true happiness. And when we’re on a team, success depends on how well we work together with our teammates. It’s not up to us as individuals.

Remembering our greater purpose for competing puts the attention on Jesus. He was the ultimate example of the Light of the world, yet His humility and identity were rooted in God. Jesus didn’t do anything without proper connection to His Father. He knew His ultimate purpose was to bring God glory.

Jesus was sent to Earth for the greatest purpose ever — to live a perfect life, die for our sins, defeat death and leave us with the greater promise of eternal life. Through Him, we can be better equipped and unified to submit to our role on our team, the well-being of our teammates and steadfast mindset of glorifying God through our play.

Competing with a greater purpose deflects the glory from self and sets our sights on God and His greater work within us. When we give our lives to Him, God shifts our priorities to line up with the best He has in store, not only through circumstances, but through a greater internal work of our hearts.

As we accept Jesus’ work on the cross to save us from sin and an eternity without God, we are mindful to glorify God in every aspect of our lives — mind, body and soul.

As we glorify God in our bodies and lives, He spreads into every aspect of our days: In our relationships, our schoolwork, our jobs, in competition, our free time and all other spaces and places.

Every ounce of our efforts here on Earth leads to the everlasting praise and glory we get to give God when we live with Him in Heaven.

When we receive glory for things we have done through Jesus, we are to point people to God and pass all the glory along to Him. This is the best strategy: Give God the glory.