Being Driven While Remaining Faithful to the God

I have always had a difficult time figuring out how to manage my pursuits within sports, work, family life, etc. while at the same time remaining faithful to God and allowing His will to be done.  I've often asked the question, "Is it sometimes wrong for me to try my hardest to accomplish particular goals?  What if it is not God's will for that to happen?"  The simple answer I believe God has told me in the past is that if it is not His will, then it won't happen, no matter how hard I try.  At the same time, however; it is not wrong for me to pursue particular goals and dreams, as long as they are not sinful and contrary to God's Word in some way.  And in pursuing those goals and dreams, it is important that I keep my priorities straight.  For instance, my pursuit of winning a golf tournament should never come before my family in any way, shape or form. 

Here are a couple good quotes which apply to this topic:

"Work hard as if it all depends on you; then live realizing that it doesn't - but rather it all depends on God".  (Gary Carr - my father)

"I always have worked my hardest to bring about the result that I desire, but if it doesn't happen then I accept it (realizing that it may not have been God's plan/will for me)".  (Tim Tebow)

Tonight I had the opportunity to talk with a very successful Christian business man.  This gentleman runs his own company and has done so very successfully.  I have always felt that in order to be successful in sports and in business you have to be driven - you have to be willing to see what you want and to go out and get it.  I have struggled wondering if this type of attitude is contrary to what God calls us to as Christians.  I now believe this not to be the case, for the reasons stated above - which God has so graciously taught me over the years.  But I asked this gentleman this evening the same questions that I have struggled with in the past to get some further insight into the matter.  I was interested to see what a Christian man, who is very driven and successful, how he manages to honor God, while at the same time being driven.  I asked him how he finds the balance between going after what you want (goals, dreams, clients, etc.) while at the same time staying surrendered to God and honoring Him with your pursuits and work.  Our discussion confirmed everything that I thought above, but this gentleman also provided some additional insights which I found very helpful and wise.  While he applies these principles to his business, I feel they can be applied to sports and many other areas of life.

1.  God needs to be the President and CEO of your company.
You need to make sure that the business if for Him and not yourself.  You need to make sure that you are honoring Him with the firstfruits of the business, and that you do not get prideful with success, for as the Bible says, "Pride comes before a fall".  He said that when He got to these points of pride, they were the worst years for his business. 

Along with this, it is important to tithe what your company makes, not just what you take home personally.  This is a way to ensure that God is the center and that it is all dedicated to Him.  Even in pursuits which don't bring home money (ex. amateur sports), it is important to make sure that you dedicate it all to God and are giving Him all glory, honor, praise, as well as all firstfruits.  The focus must always be on honoring Him with everything that we ever do and pursue.

2.  Run your company the way God lead His disciples.
The way that God taught His disciples is a great model for how to run your company.  In general living as Jesus did and following His example is extremely important.

3. Hate losing and do whatever you have to in order to win
Obviously it is important to ensure that this is done in a way which is honoring to God.  But this gentleman said that he absolutely hates losing; and that he does whatever he has to in order to win jobs and get people's business.  He will cut costs, go wherever he has to go, do whatever he has to do in order to be successful.  He really stressed the fact that he absolutely hates losing.  Now with that said, he made sure to mention that there will be times where you lose, and when that happens you simply accept it and move on.  He reiterated the comments in the Tim Tebow quote listed above.

There are many characteristics which are common for all successful athletes, business people, etc..  Hating to lose and being driven to do whatever it takes to win is one of these.  It is not a coincidence that certain characteristics such as these are found in all champions.  The key is to develop these characteristics and to apply them in a way which is consistent with how Jesus lived His life and what is taught in His Word.

I really appreciated my talk with this gentleman.  It was very refreshing to speak with someone who has been successful in the world without becoming "worldly".  He is proof that it is possible to be driven and goal oriented while maintaining integrity and glorifying God in the process.

Christ-like Motivations

God does call us to be the best we can be at all things for His glory.  He calls us to develop our skills to our full potential.  But when our motivations to do so are worldly, rather than Godly, this is wrong.  When we are motivated to succeed for worldly reasons, rather than to glorify God alone, there is no peace in that, and I believe that will prevent us from reaching our full potential.

The Freedom Found in Surrendering All Results to God

There is such freedom in knowing that all God calls me to do is my best in everything and then allow Him to take care of all the results. 

It is when I sit back and examine this fact that I realize how exciting this statement truly is.  The world teaches us to put forth our best effort and to never stop until we achieve what we've set out to do.  I am not about to say that this is bad teaching, for working your hardest at everything you ever pursue is a strong quality to have, but working until you accomplish something, there is no peace of freedom in that.  Rather, that can lead to quite a bit of stress.  However, when we work our hardest as if it depends on us, and then live realizing it doesn't, by surrendering all results of our efforts to God, we are allowing the God who created all things, and Who wants what's best for us, to lead us where He wants us to be.  That's freedom, because it ensures that, as long as we are properly surrendered to Him, we will end up accomplishing whatever He wants us to, wherever He wants us to, whenever He wants us to.

Now I mentioned the idea of trying to "will" yourself to accomplsih your goals and dreams.  As long as one has the proper attitude of surrender, I don't believe this is a bad thing.  For when we attempt to will ourselves to accomplish something, it means that we are putting forth our best effort, which is what God calls us to do.  By putting forth our best effort we are worshiping God.  Therefore, trying to will yourself to accomplish something is fine, as long as you maintain proper surrender of the results to God.  This means accepting whatever He chooses the results to be.  And this brings peace because you know that you did your part in the process by putting forth your best effort.

Tim Tebow Mentality to Daily Practice

Tim Tebow said in an interview something which I liked very much.  He said that each day that he practices he does so with the goal in mind that at the end of the day he will be able to say two things.  The first is "I got better today" and the second is, "No one would have outworked me today".  I like those mentalities.  I feel that both, combined with an attitude of doing your best to worship God, will do exactly that - worship God.

Tebow has also said in the past that he always pictures that there is someone out there who is trying to out work him, and one day when they meet, he wants to be able to know that he is ready and that he was not out worked and thus he has the upper hand.  With this mentality, you can then always go into any competition knowing that you are better prepared then any of your competition.