Staying Put
Goal to Go
Jim Gibbs
Thursday, April 27, 2000
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not (Jeremiah 45:5). Bonus Reading: Matthew 6:25-34
Damon Thames, a senior shortstop at Rice University [in 1999], turned down an offer from the world champion New York Yankees so he could return for his final year of college.
In June [of 1998], he was drafted in the tenth round by the Yankees after a season in which he batted .426, had 115 RBIs, and was named College Player of the Year. However Thames decided to stay at Rice and finish getting his degree in economics.
"It was a tough decision, because I've wanted to play pro baseball all my life," he says. "But I really prayed about it, and I felt that God wanted me to stay where I was. I had seen guys jump to the big leagues after their junior year, and they struggled in the minors. I just wasn't ready to make that jump."
Thames says there's one verse that kept coming to his mind during that time. "Matthew 6:33 [part of today's Bonus Reading] really helped me a lot. I've realized that all the money and all the wealth that I'll ever need is at the cross of Christ. Regardless of whether I ever sign a pro contract, that is enough for me."
Jim Gibbs in Sports Spectrum Personal Challenge:
- What are some practical ways to make "seeking first the kingdom" a part of your everyday life?
Thought to Apply: When you aim at heaven, you'll get earth thrown in, but when you aim at earth, you get neither.
C.S. LEWIS (BRITISH SCHOLAR AND WRITER)
Credits: Adapted fromThursday: Sports Spectrum (7-8/99)
Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity. For reprint information click here.
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