Reviewing C.J. Mahaney's Don't Waste Your Sports

Sports have always been a big part of my life, but unfortunately, much of my involvement in sports has been for the wrong reasons. Although I can’t change the past, today I try to make my playing and coaching to be glorifying to God. Pastor Mahaney’s 50-page booklet can help you understand what that entails. Whether you’re a high school athlete, soccer mom, or coaching adults, Don’t Waste Your Sports is for anyone who wants to honor God through athletics. The six short chapters listed below can be read in less than an hour.

1. Sports at Their Best—and Worst

2. What Are Sports Really For?

3. Meeting God before the Opening Tip

4. Play to the Glory of God

5. Sports Idols

6. Your Next Game

At the end of the book, there are application and discussion questions for athletes and parents. I recommend that athletic directors provide the booklet to their coaches and discuss the material before their respective seasons get underway. It’s important we realize that sports are gifts from God so we compete in a way that shows humility, grace, and a heart of thankfulness.

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14