Student Leadership 401: 360 LeadershipSample

Day One: Taking Ownership

Whatever you do, work at it with your whole heart for the Lord and not for people. Colossians 3:23 (NIV)

In the world of competitive sports, there are players and there are fans. Both know and love the sport. Both show up for games, ready to support their teams. Sometimes they even wear the same jerseys.

The biggest difference between the two? Ownership.

Fans might love the game and own a jersey, but at the end of the day, they are just one of many spectators resigned to the bleachers. Whether their team wins or loses is not up to them.

For the player, though, the love of the game goes beyond simply showing up on game day. It’s a mindset that influences how they spend their time and ultimately live their lives.

Players don’t just show up at games and hope for a win. They practice every week if not every day. Months and years are spent conditioning and building up muscles. Time is set aside to study the game and prepare for rival teams and players. Real players choose to do all this hard work for the sake of the game. Behind trophies, championships, and accolades are blood, sweat, and tears. The public wins are a result of private discipline.

What if we started living our lives that way? Instead of doing the bare minimum and only showing up for the game, what if we chose to take ownership of the life, opportunities, and gifts God has given us? What if we chose to go the extra mile, even when nobody was around to cheer us on? How different would our lives look if we decided to own the game rather than sitting in the stands?

We want to challenge you to make the decision today to increase your level of ownership at home, in your school, and in your relationship with God. Ownership isn’t something you have to wait to apply until you’re an adult. You can start owning more of the cleaning around your house even though you don’t pay the bills. You can start owning your future by putting more effort into your homework today. And as great as your youth pastor is, they can’t read your Bible for you — you’ve got to own your own growth!

Taking ownership requires sacrifice, discipline, and risk, but we hope you’ll soon discover as you read this devotional that it’s what separates the players from the fans — and it’s the players who win!