Focused

The apostle Paul writes in 1st Corinthians 9 about striving for excellence, so that we may grow spiritually and that God might be glorified in our lives. He states:
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.
27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

After winning the U.S. Open last month, professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau, said this, according to the Instagram feed for Christhlete: “There’s more to life than golf. It’s been definitely eye-opening for me to have a close relationship with the Lord and just more importantly being happy with myself, too, and more importantly getting closer to Him..."

That was included in a Movieguide article, which also referred to previous coverage on the website, which noted:

In 2022, DeChambeau took a hiatus from the game of golf to get himself healthy from a lingering wrist injury which later required surgery.

During that time, DeChambeau was able to focus on himself and his relationship with the Lord.

“I’ve learned so much about me as a person and my faith and whatnot through golf having been stripped away from me,” DeChambeau told USA Today. “It’s been a difficult time for me the past seven months not being able to play golf the way I really want to. It still is a little tough every once in a while in the hand to hit golf balls, but for the most part I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back out here.”

That previous Movieguide article explored some of the golfer's faith journey.  It referenced a 2016 piece he wrote for a publication called, Links Players, stating:

“What it talked about all the way through was how to play sports like Jesus would play sports,” DeChambeau said of “Handbook on Athletic Perfection.” “It captured the dynamic between being ultra-competitive and being as gracious and kind as possible, and it resonated with me.”

He continued: “When I got to the tournament, I said to myself, ‘OK, I’m going to give my life to Christ and try to act like him in every single situation and do my best for him in every single situation, whatever comes about. If it’s a bad situation, I’ll look at it as an opportunity for me to show my patience, my resilience, my grace. Or if I do something great, I’m still going to be patient and graceful and kind and respectful to others.'”

As a result, he saw what he calls, "three amazing miracles," take place, according to the Movieguide piece: 

1) "DeChambeau was able to eat breakfast the morning of a tournament, something he is usually never able to do." 

Also, 2), he "experienced a sense of overwhelming peace." 

And, 3), he experienced greater self-control. He said, "I had never been good with my emotions on the course, and this came out in the way I talked. I would get angry and cuss. But now my emotions were held in check,” adding, “They were the correct emotions, the emotions that Christ would employ. Sure, I hit bad shots, but now I was gracious and kind and never said anything. I stopped cussing.”

This is a tremendous example of an athlete who has applied His faith in Christ to his craft at a very high level and has seen the results.  Paul referred to our focus and diligence in the Christian life, likening it to a what an athlete needs to do in order to excel.  We must be willing to do what is necessary in order to manifest the will of God in our lives. 

We can also recognize that just as Bryson DeChambeau is devoted to growing in His Christian life, he is using that growth as a catalyst to become a better golfer. I submit that we can be better in our profession as we apply God's principles, depending on His wisdom and the strength that He provides, so that Christ might be expressed in and through us.