Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. – 1 Corinthians 10:31, King James Version (KJV)

Once there was a guy named Tom. Tom loved football, and after serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, he played professionally. After a few years as a player, Tom turned to coaching. His first year as a coach was a disaster; he won zero games and lost eleven. He followed that up with four more losing seasons and a season where the team went 7-7. Then something remarkable happened. He started winning. As a matter of fact, Tom’s teams wouldn’t stop winning for the next twenty years, and during that stretch his teams competed for the championship five times, winning twice. Then, his teams had three losing seasons in a row, and Tom was fired.

Through the ups and downs of his coaching career, Tom served Christ in his church as a Sunday School teacher. On many occasions, he arrived for home games just before kickoff after teaching a class at church. He was also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and he was a friend of the Reverend Billy Graham, speaking at many of his crusades. Tom carried his faith with him onto the football field as well, and those who knew him recognized Tom as one of Christ’s children.

The late Tom Landry, NFL Hall of Fame coach of the Dallas Cowboys, understood that life is riddled with both success and failure. Through his ups and downs, Tom understood that, in the end, the things that matter most are not how popular we are with the people around us or how successful we are in our careers. The things that matter most are how strong our relationship with Christ is and how diligent we are in sharing Christ with others. Yes, it is depressing when we fail and exciting when we succeed. But both our failures and our successes on Earth are temporary, and with enough time, they will be forgotten. What lasts is what is eternal, and it is through the prism of eternity that we should view everything that happens to us in this life.

Yes, be diligent. Yes, be the best you can be in everything you do. We owe Christ no less, for everything we do we are to do for His glory. But remember, it is indeed for His glory, not ours, that we should strive for success. When we understand that, we will be able to avoid being miserable during times of failure, and we will be able to avoid being arrogant during times of success. We will be steady of character, and our steady character will prompt others to wonder why we are so steady. Then, as Tom Landry did, we will have wonderful opportunities to explain that it is not we who live, but Christ who lives within us.

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