True Competitor: 7 Days of Spiritual GritSample

SECONDHAND GLORY

True Competitor Principle

Reflect God’s glory; don’t steal it.

Growing up with two older brothers meant I never got anything new. Nothing! I was given secondhand items all the time, including clothes, sporting equipment, and toys. It was hand-me-down living at its best. Since there is no such thing as a hand-me-up, I never had the chance to return the favor. However, I do remember getting a few new pairs of socks, so I had that going for me. It felt like Christmas morning.

Secondhand stuff had already passed through the hands of my brothers. They had worn out the knees of the pants, busted zippers on jackets, destroyed toy cars, and made holes in everything. But my big day did come. When I was eight years old, my dad bought me a brand-new blue lacrosse stick called an STX Sam. I never knew what new smelled like until that day. Each night, the lacrosse stick replaced my dog in my bed. That stick didn’t leave my side for months. The best part of the whole deal was that my brothers didn’t get the chance to get their dirty hands on it before I did. It was glorious! The lacrosse stick glowed because it passed through my hands first—not second or third. That experience marked me as a young athlete.

The basic concept of secondhand is having a previous owner (i.e., brothers). Secondhand can never be new. We clearly understand this principle when it comes to possessions and even secondhand information. Secondhand information is never dependable, and we usually give it with caution, such as, “Not sure about this play, but the coach said it would work every time we run it.”

But what does secondhand mean when it comes to God? He doesn’t want secondhand, passed-down glory. You know what I’m talking about—taking credit for ourselves when God should be getting it. This can be subtle, such as quickly giving credit to God after we take the credit first. Of course, we’re always “spiritual” enough not to keep the glory for good…just long enough to enjoy it.

The key, though, is to reflect His glory, not absorb it. We need to be mirrors, not sponges. When we compete, we should reflect God’s glory—and He should see Himself. If we are sponges, we absorb His glory and rob Him of the glory due His name.

The Bible clearly shows that God rejects all secondhand glory. He receives only firsthand glory. Giving Him the glory goes beyond deciding who should get the credit. We give credit with the mouth. We give glory with the heart. Glory is about honoring our Master with our best and worshiping Him with a pure heart. When we get it right and honor Him first, God will honor us. “I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disgraced” (1 Samuel 2:30 HCSB).

As athletes, it’s easy to take credit because we’re always getting it from teammates, coaches, and fans. The world of sports is an environment of recognition, praise, credit, and glory. But too many athletes and coaches become glory hounds instead of glory reflectors. Glory hounds compete to impress and get recognition. They feed off their own successes. Nehemiah 6:15–16 talks about a great leader who was not a glory hound but a glory reflector:

The wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.

When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.

If anyone in the Bible could have been a glory hound, it was Nehemiah. He rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem—a significant feat—in fifty-two days! He did the unthinkable even though everyone told him he would not succeed. But it’s crystal clear how he completed it—he didn’t do it himself. God, not Nehemiah, accomplished this incredible task. There lies the secret of greatness: we must say, “God did it,” not, “I did it.” Psalm 115:1 says, “Not to us, Yahweh, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your faithful love, because of Your truth” (HCSB).

But that’s hard for athletes to do. The classic move most Christian athletes make is to say, “I did it, and I want to give God credit.” It’s not about giving God credit. Our desire instead should be that everyone knows it is God who did it. The competition is about God, not about us and our athletic accomplishments.

As an athlete, coach, or parent, you are doing something significant. As a follower of Christ, you are always doing something significant because you reflect Him every time you compete. What if you decided, right from the get-go, that the glory for everything you do will go to Jesus? The FCA Competitor’s Creed states, “Let the competition begin. Let the glory be God’s.” So reflect God’s glory; don’t steal it. Our Father delights to see Himself in you when you compete. It doesn’t get any better than that!

Lord, I admit it—I’m a glory hound. Forgive me. Help me, Lord, not to give You secondhand glory. I know You want firsts, not seconds. Teach me how to give You the glory all the time. My goal is to be a glory reflector so You will be pleased to see Yourself in me. When I compete, I don’t want to steal any glory from You. I want to be Your mirror, Father. In Jesus’ name. Amen.