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Key Bible Verse: I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done (Philippians 3:7). Bonus Reading: Mark 8:34-37

"Pistol" Pete Maravich was one of the greatest, most dazzling basketball players of all time. As a collegiate player at Louisiana State University, he set many NCAA scoring records, some of which still stand.

Through basketball, Pete developed a skill and learned self-discipline and teamwork. But he also crossed a line In his autobiography, Heir to a Dream, he wrote, "I … considered it [basketball] the constant and ultimate supplier of all my needs … My existence was based on reaching the top."

Basketball became Pete's God-substitute. But the law of diminishing returns set in. Eventually, the more he invested in basketball, the less he received in personal fulfillment and meaning. During his NBA career, he prayed, "I've had it with this life of mine. All of it, the money, fame, and things have left me so empty."

Pete's despair drove him to Christ. Repenting, he sought out God and His righteousness. The change in his life was powerful and lasting. He wrote, "The transformation in my life was astonishing … All the fame and fortune I had accumulated looked extremely pale when compared to the abundance of Christ in me." The law of increasing returns.

—James Hilt in Illinois

My Response: Have I so "had it" with life lived on my own that I am ready to turn it over to God?

Thought to Apply: Every story of conversion is the story of a blessed defeat.—C.S. Lewis (British scholar and author)

Adapted from Illinois

Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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