What's Most Important?

Growing up I played baseball. I ate, slept, and drank baseball. Eventually, all that hard work paid off and I got to play college baseball. Yet, there is one nagging question in my mind, "What was really sacrificed for two years of college baseball?"

I know what I gave up socially through high school, and even in college. The coaches of my high school traveling team had one rule: No family vacations. They made it clear, if you wanted to play, not even family vacations could override baseball. The thing about it is, this was the team everyone wanted to play for. And we were good. Several of my teammates went on to play in college, and every year we challenged for states. So when they asked me to play two years before most got asked to play, my dad was thrilled. He ate, slept, and drank baseball more than I did. And, so the rule about family vacations became instituted in our house.

Looking back on it now, it seems ridiculous. Sure, I learned a thing or two about teamwork, and a lot more about things that I've tried to erase from my mind (oh, teammates...). But, I never played professional or even semi-pro baseball.Of all that time and money spent on baseball, what else could I have invested in? Did I really need to play baseball all four seasons? My coaches certainly thought so; and, demanded it. Did I really have to give up family, and more importantly spiritual family time for it?

When I worked for Christian Sports International coaching baseball clinics, we would start our week off by telling the athletes, "Less than 1% of all kids who play little league baseball, will play pro-ball." That stat defines pro-ball as any level in in which you are paid to play. And, yet we funnel tons of money and time into something that for many of our students won't exceed past high school. And if you grow up in a very competitive area, maybe not even past Jr. High.

Now, I'm not saying that making sure your student attends every church service, youth group lock-in, or retreat, will be the key to their spiritual health. But, I am asking (as someone who was an over committed athlete), what should our students really be investing in? How does our commitment to sports (my experience), or any other extra curricular impact eternity? And the hard to swallow follow up question, "Am I really making an impact for eternity on my team, or in my group?" Are our students being taught an example of "church skipping", even unintentionally? Are we as parents helping our students learn to live the majority of their lives for the Gospel, by teaching them to do so while still under our roofs?

More thoughts on this topic here.