How to Play with Purpose

“I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast, and when I run, I feel his pleasure.” - Eric Liddell, 1924 Olympian and missionary

Scottish runner Eric Liddell’s story is legend and famously portrayed in the movie Chariots of Fire. Liddell grew up in a missionary family but also had a gift of running. His feet took him to the Olympics in 1924 before going to China as a missionary.

To those who are familiar with Liddell’s story, we can see how sports and faith intersect in a way only God can orchestrate. As athletes, we are made a certain way. We are made to be strong, fast, tall, short, explosive, and competitive. We are willing to sacrifice our time and our bodies for the chance to win. Many of us do not recognize our athletic ambition and ability as a gift from God and a way for us to worship Him. God takes great pleasure in watching us use our athletic and competitive gifts. This takes the pressure off our performance and centers us around our motivation, which we should ask ourselves about. Do we play for an audience of one?

We must first get to the heart of our purpose in life before we can recognize how to compete with a sense of purpose and as an act of worship. We must be honest that sports can easily unleash a selfish side in all of us. We can be so inwardly focused on our performance we fail to look outward at the opportunity to reflect His glory.

When we walk onto the field or the track, or pick up that racket, do we acknowledge the only reason we are out there is because our Creator wills it to be so? We can easily lose sight of our greater purpose in sports, and that’s to make Him known. How do we compete with purpose?

Alone Time

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” –Proverbs 4:23, NIV

Be intentional about alone time with God to guard your heart. What happens in private affects what happens in public. This is the time we train our hearts to be postured to God.

We know how to dedicate time to train for our sport; now we need to be dedicated in our time alone with Jesus. In this quiet space and in time of prayer, focus on these three things to create a posture toward playing with purpose:

1)     Thank God for your ability to play. We can all whisper a short sentence of praise before we step into the competitive playing arena.   

2)     Acknowledge and repent where we have made sports all about us.

3)     Know God is worthy of your praise and acknowledge He made you a certain way. When you compete, you can feel His pleasure. 

This diligent time alone with God will impact your faith on the field. You will face all kinds of challenges and victories. In the quiet spaces, you develop a relationship with the One who created you for sport and created you with a sense of purpose far beyond winning and losing. 

Honor

“Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” –1 Peter 2:17

Honoring your teammates and coaches will have a profound impact not only on them, but also on you. Honor is not a word that is commonly used today, but it can change the course of attitudes, team unity and perspective.

How can you honor your coaches and your teammates?

• Never engage in team chatter that disparages one another or a competitor.

• Verbally thank coaches for their time and efforts.

• Create ways your team to get together.

• Be the first to encourage your teammates and praise them publicly.

• Be excellent in your training practices.

• Forgive easily.

• Be wise and honorable on social media.

• Be competitive on the field and compassionate off the field.

Service

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in various forms.” –1 Peter 4:10, NIV

Serving others well is one of the most impactful things we can do as athletes. When we serve others, we elevate them and fill our own hearts with joy. Acts of service are God’s way of ministering to those around us because it’s counterculture to the generally accepted athlete’s act of self-promotion.

Lead by serving others. Be the first to practice, clean up the training pitch or text a teammate who is having a hard time. If you are gifted in a certain area of your sport, offer to spend extra time training teammates. There are many ways to serve, and God will lay those on your heart in your alone time with Him. It’s all a part of the reason you are competing where you are. 

“Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” –Colossians 3:17

We are made for God’s glory, and playing with purpose allows us to worship Him by utilizing the bodies God has given us in a unique way. We can be disappointed in losses and celebratory in wins, but neither define our worth. It takes the pressure of our performance and puts the spotlight on the One who really deserves it. 

LIVE IT OUT

Theme Verse: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” - Romans 15:13

Quarter Verse: “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds;  and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” –Ephesians 4:22-24, NIV

Question: What is your purpose for competing? What does God say about that purpose?

Challenge: Memorize Ephesians 4:22-24 and let it rule your heart and mind as you compete.

CTA: There’s a difference to your performance when you play for an Audience of One. Take your faith on the field and look to the Lord to impact your performance. Go through The CORE



*If you read this article and aren’t in relationship with Christ yet but would like to know more, we invite you to go through FCA’s The FOUR that explains how an everlasting and fulfilling life with God is possible.