Don't get carried away                                                                Daniel 1:3-5                                                                                     

For many of us our dream from when we were kids was to make it as a pro in sport.  Now you are one of the ones who made it.  Whether you play for a Premier League club or use your medical or administrative gifts, you are involved in professional sport.  You have made it!  Others are envious of you.

When it happens it is so easy to get carried away by it all, to feel full of yourself. “I’ve really made it now.  I’ve hit the big time."  You still believe in Jesus but you wouldn’t admit to it to your new mates.  What would they think?  Jesus is OK but a bit Mickey Mouse compared to the wealth, fame, power and influence, the television and the money and the whole thing that goes around the world of sport. In any case God has brought me to this situation and he wants the best for me so he wants me to make the best of it.

Remember the Jewish boys we mentioned last week

"Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility -  young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.  The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service." Daniel 1:3-5

They had been brought to Babylon as slaves and then selected for special training for the king’s service.  It was bit like being given a free transfer by a conference club only to be signed by Manchester United and put straight into the first team squad!  They could easily have let it go to their heads and kept quiet about their faith.  But as we read the whole of the book of Daniel we see that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not compromise.  Whatever the challenge they put God first.

They recognized that they were in this position because God had given them the talent and shaped their path. They were not going to let themselves be led away from their faith in God by riches or fame. They could have asked themselves, “How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4).  But, no.  They worked hard for Babylon but their ultimate master was God.

The Christian in the sports club should be the hardest worker, the most trustworthy.  She should be the one who isn’t gossiping or slagging people off behind their backs.  As you work hard and live with integrity, giving Babylon a fair day’s work, but doing it ultimately for the Lord, the result may be as Jesus said as you “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven”.  Matthew 5:16.

Let’s all live for Christ in the world of sport this week!

Stuart Weir and Graham Daniels

Also in this series on Daniel

Drawing the line

Life's a rollercoaster

Master yourself

The long haul

Things that last

Making a difference

An audience of one

He could never become a Christian

Does it matter?

Being there for Christ

Writing on the wall