Give God the Glory

You've heard the interview.

A player has the game of his life. Maybe he hits the walk-off. Maybe he throws seven shutout innings. Maybe his team just won a championship.

Someone puts a microphone in his face and he says:

“First and foremost, I just want to give all the glory to God.”

I love hearing that.

Seriously.

In a sport where players have a platform to reach thousands or even millions of people, hearing the name of Jesus proclaimed is powerful.

But I've been thinking about that statement.

What does it actually mean to give God the glory?

Because saying it is easy.

Living it is different.

If I say, “I want to give God all the glory,” after winning a championship and then spend the rest of the night celebrating in ways that clearly don't honor Him, did I really understand what I just said?

If I point toward Heaven after hitting a home run but treat my teammates terribly in the clubhouse, what am I communicating?

If I put Philippians 4:13 in my Instagram bio but live completely differently when nobody is watching, what does that say about the Jesus I'm claiming to represent?

Giving God the glory has to become more than something Christians say after something good happens.

It has to change the way we live.

Glory Is Bigger Than a Microphone

First Corinthians 10:31 says:

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Notice what Paul says.

Whatever you do.

Giving God glory isn't limited to the thirty seconds after your biggest accomplishment.

It's how you respond to the accomplishment.

It's how you celebrate.

It's how you treat people afterward.

It's what you do when nobody is recording.

It's what happens when the interview ends, the stadium empties, and you're surrounded only by your teammates.

If God gets the glory for the victory, He should also get the glory in the celebration.

That's where this becomes practical.

You just won the championship?

Celebrate.

You just hit a walk-off?

Go crazy with your teammates.

You just committed to your dream school?

Enjoy that moment.

You just got drafted?

Thank God and celebrate what He's allowed you to accomplish.

Following Jesus doesn't mean pretending exciting things aren't exciting.

It doesn't mean you can't enjoy success.

It doesn't mean you have to act like going 4-for-4 wasn't awesome.

But our celebration shouldn't require us to temporarily stop following Jesus.

If the way I celebrate the blessing requires me to disobey the One who blessed me, something is wrong.

Your Life Has to Match Your Words

Jesus says in Matthew 5:16:

“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

There's something important there.

People don't only hear what you say about God.

They watch how you live.

Imagine telling everybody:

“This is all for Jesus.”

Then getting drunk celebrating the victory.

Or sleeping with someone you're not married to.

Or humiliating an opponent.

Or treating the clubhouse staff like they're beneath you.

Or posting Scripture publicly while living completely differently privately.

That's where our words can start losing their weight.

That's where “all glory to God” can become a Christian catchphrase instead of a declaration about how we've chosen to live.

And when we publicly claim Jesus but consistently live in a way that contradicts Him, we can give people a distorted picture of what following Jesus actually means.

That doesn't mean Christians are supposed to be perfect.

We're not.

We need grace just as desperately as anyone else.

We will mess up. We will make bad decisions. We will need forgiveness.

But following Jesus should produce something in us.

James 1:22 says:

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

There should eventually be evidence that Jesus isn't simply someone we talk about.

He's someone we follow.

Don't Use Jesus as a Caption

This is where I think Christian athletes need to challenge ourselves.

Jesus cannot become part of our personal brand.

A cross necklace.

A Bible verse in the bio.

A finger pointed toward Heaven.

“God's plan.”

“Blessed.”

“All glory to God.”

Those things can be meaningful.

But none of them substitute for obedience.

If I publicly attach Jesus' name to my baseball career, I should understand the responsibility that comes with that.

People are watching.

Your teammates are watching.

Younger players are watching.

Coaches are watching.

Fans are watching.

And for some of those people, the way you live may influence what they think following Jesus actually looks like.

That's serious.

Colossians 3:17 says:

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Word or deed.

What I say.

And what I do.

They belong together.

If my words say “Jesus” but my life consistently says something completely different, eventually people are going to notice.

Giving God the glory can't only be something we say.

It has to become something people can see.

So What Does Giving God the Glory Actually Look Like?

Deuteronomy gives us one of the clearest pictures of what this means.

God was preparing His people for success. They were going to enter the Promised Land, build homes, grow their possessions, and experience blessing.

And God gave them a warning:

“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.” — Deuteronomy 8:17–18

Read that again.

“My power and the strength of my hands have produced this…”

That's incredibly easy to translate into baseball.

My swing did this.

My work ethic did this.

My training did this.

My talent got me here.

I earned this scholarship.

I earned this starting spot.

I got myself drafted.

And yes—you worked.

You took the extra swings.

You lifted the weights.

You woke up early.

You sacrificed.

You practiced when other people weren't practicing.

But who gave you the ability to do any of it?

That's God's warning in Deuteronomy.

Don't experience the blessing and forget the One who gave you the ability to pursue it.

Giving God the glory doesn't mean pretending you didn't work hard.

It means recognizing where your ability to work hard came from.

It looks like thanking God after the home run and showing humility when everybody praises you.

It looks like giving God credit for your ability and continuing to work when nobody is watching.

It looks like pointing toward Heaven after the win and honoring Him at the celebration afterward.

It looks like putting Scripture in your bio and letting Scripture determine how you live.

It looks like talking about Jesus in interviews and treating the clubhouse attendant with respect.

It looks like praising God when you're 4-for-4 and trusting Him when you're 0-for-4.

It looks like being the same follower of Jesus when the cameras are gone.

That's giving God the glory.

Not pretending you aren't talented.

Not pretending you didn't work.

Not refusing to celebrate what you've accomplished.

It's understanding:

God gave me the ability.

So when that ability produces something worth celebrating, I don't have to make myself smaller.

I make Him greater.

Not perfection.

Surrender.

A life that says:

“Jesus, this belongs to You.”

My talent belongs to You.

My platform belongs to You.

My success belongs to You.

My celebration belongs to You.

My relationships belong to You.

My private life belongs to You.

My baseball career belongs to You.

I belong to You.

Live Like You Mean It

So yes.

Hit the home run.

Win the championship.

Get the scholarship.

Sign the contract.

Celebrate with your teammates.

Enjoy the moment.

And when someone puts the microphone in your face, don't be afraid to tell the world:

“I just want to give all the glory to God.”

Say it.

Mean it.

Proclaim Jesus.

But understand what you're saying.

You're saying that this moment isn't ultimately about you.

You're saying that the ability you have is a gift.

You're saying that the platform you've been given belongs to Him.

And you're saying something even bigger:

Jesus isn't only Lord of the victory. He's Lord of your life.

So when the interview ends, keep glorifying Him.

When the celebration starts, keep glorifying Him.

When nobody is watching, keep glorifying Him.

When you're the star, keep glorifying Him.

When you're on the bench, keep glorifying Him.

When you're 4-for-4, keep glorifying Him.

When you're 0-for-4, keep glorifying Him.

Giving God the glory isn't a sentence.

It's a way of living.

So when someone puts the microphone in your face, tell them who gets the glory.

And when the microphone turns off—

live like you meant it.