What Are You Chasing?
“For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” –Romans 1:20-22
We’re trying to do everything on our own to ensure that we are getting the recognition we think we deserve. More playing time, more stats, more crowds cheering us on. But it falls flat. The praise doesn’t bring the peace we thought it would.
What if there’s a deeper purpose for the talents we have?
The truth is that we were never made to hold our own glory. There is a God who made us, in His image, for His glory.
Receiving glory in the form of honor, praise, admiration, or rewards will naturally happen throughout your athletic career. But it’s when you find yourself chasing glory that it becomes a problem. It puts you out of balance with God’s plan, which is to give Him all the glory for what He has done for you and through you.
Like Adam and Eve in the garden and the people of Babylon, you too can find yourself chasing glory in the form of popularity, awards, records, scholarships, or even Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals, and professional contracts. It's That sinful nature that tries to compel you towards pride, selfishness, struggles with identity and self-worth, idolatry, and attempting to claim God’s glory for yourself. But God didn’t create you to handle the weight of His glory. Instead, He created you to give Him The glory and have peace knowing that Jesus is perfectly sufficient for every aspect of your life.
The first step towards true peace and fulfillment is acknowledging that you are chasing after something that God never intended for you. As you step away from the sin of pride and move closer to Him, it’s important to remember: Chasing My Glory is a vain pursuit. It won’t fulfill you and it won’t bring you closer to God. For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse.
As you better understand the nature of God’s glory, you will start to move from chasing your glory to reflecting His glory. And His glory is what matters.
- Where have you been trying to achieve your own glory?
- How can you start to switch your mindset to giving God the glory?
- Choose an attribute of God to learn more about and spend some time praising Him for who He is through that attribute.
“Father, You have made the earth and all that is in it. Everything comes from You. Help me to see that my gifts come from You; I want to give You the glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
