“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” — James 1:27
>> Sign up here for Sports Spectrum devotionals sent right to your email inbox <<
Many coaches and professional athletes do a juggling act to find time to spend with their spouses and children. Picture a mom or dad fixing breakfast for their children and sprinkling Bible verses into the conversation, while also showing interest in the daily activities of their kids, and then spending more time with them by driving them to school before going to the office or the gym. Perhaps that coach won’t return home until 9 p.m., but the children will know that their parents prioritized them.
When we watch sports or listen to songs and sermons, we don’t often think about the family of that person on the big stage, but their family members need time and attention as much as anyone else. When God made the world, He placed a high priority on families. The Lord made Adam and Eve to be partners for life. “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-27).
God designed men and women to provide food, shelter and clothing for children. On a deeper level, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles are commanded to do what we can to teach children about God and Christian living. “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7).
Families were established before any organized places of worship. As our parents age, we need to give back to them by helping them in every way we can. Throughout Scripture, the Lord urges us not to forget the elderly, as well as the children. If we attend church every Sunday but forget our families, we missed God’s message. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
If you would like to submit a devotional, please email all submissions to
devotionals@sportsspectrum.com.
Click here for all Sports Spectrum Daily Devotionals
>> Purchase “The Increase 52 Week Devotional” to further grow your relationship with Christ <<
