“You are only as good as your last game”

I decided to have my usual Sunday basketball game this morning before my teaching session and today was one of those days where I didn’t “perform” (Not that I can perform very well in the 1st place). But missing a couple of fast break lay ups, under basket shots and making some defensive errors did cost the game for the rest of the team. As I received pointers from the coach, in my mind I was like “Sianz, how come so inconsistent leh? Whole life fumble and miss this kind of easy shots, next time people also won’t want to team up with me lor…” and my whole outlook was in a “It’s all my fault” pattern. Then I read this article, which put my playing back into perspective.

The tension between Christian values and sports values is summed up in the cliché “You are only as good as your last game”. Players get their identity from playing, being part of the team and performing in a way that the coach and the spectators will think well of them. Thus the player at the top of their game can easily become arrogant and base their self-worth on their good performances. The problem is that the player who kicks the rugby team to victory one week can miss the vital kicks the next week and lose the game. And what does that do to the player’s self-worth? If your self-worth is based on what people think of your performance, life will be a roller coaster.

~ Article taken from www.veritesport.org’s weekly devotional sports articles.

I guess there’s nothing wrong with being critical about my performance. In fact, I think it is necessary. Unless I evaluate or am willing to hear other people’s advice, I won’t be able to grow and learn from my mistakes. It applies in other aspects of life too. From studying to running to gaming to leading to working, I still need to perform and grow from it. But for me as a Christian, the question to ask would really be what do I base my performance on? Is it for man’s approval? Or is it for self-satisfaction? Or is it for God?

So rather than worrying about whether my performance on the court is up to the standard of those I play with and let it affect me, I should be worrying about whether in my playing, and in my whole life, God is glorified.

1 Cor 10:31So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.