Christ-honoring Perfection

Have you ever asked the question, "Are my attitude and actions on the field or court bringing glory to the Lord?",  "Is Jesus honored by how I play?", or "Does God care if I win or reach my maximum potential?"  The integration of Christian beliefs and biblical truths with athletic competition is commonly misunderstood. The Bible tells us "whatever you do, do it heartily."  But how hard do I go, how intense is my focus, how passionately do I pursue my personal best?  God's Word says it best in 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Run in such a way as to get the prize."

Wes Neal, the founder and president of Champion of Excellence and author of Handbook for Athletic Perfection, says,

"The perfect athletic performance is a result of the Holy Spirit developing you into the likeness of Jesus through your athletics.  The attitudes and actions of Jesus Christ are yours when you are controlled by the Holy Spirit.  The [power] of His attitudes and actions will develop your athletic ability to the maximum potential for which God has designed it."

Jesus Christ needs to be the center of your athletic life and Wes claims that if you learn to fellowship with Jesus during your athletic performance, you will experience a deeper walk with Him in all other areas of your life.

What say you?  Please send me your comments.  We will spend a few weeks on this important and widely debated topic Wes Neal calls, Exciting methods for acheiving Christ-honoring perfection.