“My goal is to know Him and the power
of His resurrection and the fellowship of
His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”
– Philippians 3:10

To compete in the world of athletics takes motivation and drive. As coaches, we invest countless hours training our athletes to perform at the highest level possible. What is our payoff? Why do we do it? It could be a state championship or simply a winning season. It might be a Coach of the Year award or gaining respect for the program in the community. While these can be worthy goals, they are what we could call surface desires or “earthly trophies”. We can spend our entire life collecting “earthly trophies”. It might be a trophy car, a trophy house, a trophy spouse or a trophy coaching position. It can be easy for us to focus on surface desires which seldom satisfy us in the long run.

The Apostle Paul had a lot of trophies: power, influence, prestige, money, significance, and success. He was living the good life and performing at the top of his game. Paul’s problem however, was that his desires were misplaced. He was aggressively persecuting Jesus and his followers. When Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, his focus changed forever. His new desire and focus was to know Jesus and to be on His team. Paul’s motivation shifted from “earthly trophies” to “heavenly trophies” and he never turned back. Our challenge is to take a closer look at our present desires and determine whether they fall in the category of temporary or eternal rewards. Are we collecting “earthly trophies” or “heavenly trophies”?

Heavenly Father, You know me better than I know myself. As I go about the work You have called me to do, give me a true perspective of what is really important. Help me to strive for the trophies that have eternal value. In Jesus name, Amen.