Gifted Athletes; Gifted Individuals

Cocky. Brash. Overpaid. Immature. Prima donnas. Many of these words are often used to describe professional athletes and coaches alike today…yet we as a society immortalize them nonetheless.

WE the general public, and the media are much to blame for the creation of their larger-than-life profiles. We make others wealthy by watching their reality TV shows, reading their Twitter accounts, and listening to their latest tabloid updates.  We attend their games, collect their memorabilia, seek their autographs, and covet their celebrity status. We, at times, seemingly live vicariously through them—all the while making them out to be some Greek god-like individuals.

Now, I acknowledge that professional athletes possess God-given abilities to accomplish many feats that most only dream of. I admit that many have an unparalleled work ethic, and realize that they are entertainers. However, I am suggesting that in the process of idolizing them, we often diminish the other gifts and abilities that God has personally granted each of us:  some are great teachers and pastors, while others are gifted electricians and technicians, still others are decorated doctors, designers, cooks and construction workers, judges, plumbers and maintenance workers. Ephesians notes that each gift is intended to help, encourage and build others up—not one is better than the next—after all we need each other.

Regardless of your lot in life, make the most of it. As Martin Luther King Jr. penned, “If you are called to be a street sweeper, sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’”

Editorial