Performance

I am learning more and more of how my worth and value does not depend on my performance. We are beings who are obsessed with accomplishments. People are defined more by what they do rather than who they are. As an athlete, it's hard to shake off that mentality. I have spent much energy and time working to be better and competing against other people. Coaching track this past season, I have seen many athletes become so wrapped up in their performance and it ends up affecting every other area of their life. Now I'm not saying we shouldn't care about how well we do things or competition is bad. God definitely wants us to pursue excellence. But when that pursuit becomes ultimate, it's a problem. 

We will never be satisfied by our performance. We will always want more. And when we fail to meet the standards we place upon ourselves and see others doing better than we are, a great amount of discouragement and frustration comes. We throw pity parties. The way we respond can ruin our state of being and damage our relationships with other people. Placing our identity in anything other than Christ comes with many consequences. Way back in high school, football was an idol for me and when it was all over and my career had not gone as well as I planned, I was lost. I found myself in a season filled with disappointment, anger, and depression. While I was a Christian, I based my value and worth on myself rather than Christ.

No matter how well or how poorly we perform, we will always fall short. In the Gospel, we see the perfect God-man Jesus Christ who accomplished everything we couldn't. We see the God of the universe display His love for us, despite our shortcomings. Through faith, we are united with Jesus and God views us as perfect because of what He has done. That's where our identity should lie. We often hear people say things like, "All glory to God" after a good performance. We have to be able to say that even in the tough times because He is still glorious in our failures. By being content in who He is and what He has done even when we don't perform well, God is glorified. In response to His love for us, we can go ahead and strive for excellence, but rest in His grace wherever we fall short. Seek Him, above all.

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory." - Colossians 3:1-4 (ESV)

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