When I was 7 years old, I would play on my Fisher Price basketball goal and envision myself as Michael Jordan hitting the big shot over Bryon Russell in Game 6 of the 1998 nba Finals. If the Chicago Bulls were playing, there I was pretending to play for the Bulls on my little basketball hoop. If the Bears were playing, I pretended to be the star wide receiver. In the summer, I would go outside in our backyard after a Cubs win and try to reenact the glorious victory.

Herbert W. Armstrong wrote about this phenomenon among young men: “Many high school boys look at the glamor of becoming a pro athlete—some make a million dollars or two the first three years. Many guys in junior high and high school find they are real good in basketball, football or some other sport. They become excited over the glamor of being a pro” (Youth 81, February).

Every teenager will grow up battling distractions. One of those big distractions in today’s society is sports. Today’s professional athletes live extravagant lifestyles, giving the impression that wealth and glamor bring happiness. They monopolize the spotlight. It is easy for teenagers to look up to those examples and desire that type of lifestyle. Human nature viscerally desires it.

In reality, those superstars are some of the worst examples in society. They possess traits of greed, vanity, selfishness, unhappiness and depression, accompanied by a lifestyle of unfulfilled joy. Many show fruits of poor education and horrible family backgrounds. This is the reality that God-fearing young people have to face. I had to face it myself. While sports are something I thoroughly enjoy and love, I learned that there has to be balance.

From a young age, I participated in every sport I could and built a strong passion for them. Being involved in sports gave me something productive to do outside of school and music lessons, but when I look back on it today, I see how silly it was to think that I could ever become a professional athlete.

It is unfathomably hard to make it to the top professional level. So much time, effort and sacrifice goes into the process of becoming a professional at anything. Many athletes neglect vital parts of their education, miss out on valuable work experiences, and fail to make the right friends or establish healthy relationships. A lot of athletes put their family on the back burner—their teams and coaches are more important. When you begin to see the negative social effects professional athletes experience, you learn to have a deeper appreciation for God’s way of life.

Mr. Armstrong participated in sports and was a strong advocate of intramural sports at Ambassador College. “Sure, I’ve had bodily exercise—a little!” he said. “But not the over-amount of a professional athlete. I did play tennis occasionally, but never like a pro who plays all the time. In eighth grade and high school, I skated up the river about three miles to school. I did some roller-skating. In high school, I ran the mile, but only trained in my second year, and then my best time was 5 minutes flat on the Drake University track. At age 12 to 14, I played football part of the time ….” Mr. Armstrong grew up playing sports, but he didn’t sacrifice more important parts of his life to pursue a future in sports. He understood the importance of having balance.

In my teenage years, I struggled to keep up with my friends as they began to accelerate in the junior high and high school athletic programs. I didn’t go to Friday night practices or Saturday tournaments due to the Sabbath, and was frustrated when that resulted in lost game time. This often engendered a bad attitude because, in my vanity, I thought I would be better than some of my friends if only I could play on Friday nights and Saturdays. I never wanted to sacrifice my religious beliefs for sports, but I still wanted to excel. I was always a very competitive person—I still am— and because of this, I was determined to keep getting better.

These sorts of Sabbath conflicts are one way God tests His teens. If I had gone to all the games and practices in high school—if I didn’t have to sacrifice and stand up for the Sabbath— then I probably would have put sports above everything else in my life. Once I began to understand that it was either the Sabbath or the high school sports program, there was no more question: I would keep the Sabbath. After my sophomore year, I stopped playing high school sports, but this didn’t mean I quit playing sports entirely. I continued to play basketball, flag football and baseball in recreational leagues. I continued playing for the love of the game. Keeping the Sabbath taught me a profound lesson of balance and moderation. The Sabbath doesn’t prohibit anyone from playing sports.

Removing sports from the equation even helped me to leave public school and enroll in Imperial Academy. When I was able to conquer the distraction of high school sports and evaluate my attitude, I could see that I needed to get my priorities straight. My excessive focus on playing basketball was a detriment; attending public school wasn’t helping me either.

There is real value to sports though. Sports teach valuable lessons such as leadership and teamwork. But if sports and a potential future in them are big distractions in your life, you should deeply reflect on your priorities and the balanced perspective Mr. Armstrong gave on the role of sports in his life.

Enjoy sports for the right reasons, don’t let them distract you from your education, and definitely don’t let them overtake your spiritual life. Teens: Be aware of the debaucherous lifestyle of many professional athletes. Realize the potential you have when you submit yourself to God and His way of life; it is so much greater than the potential you might have in any sport. Rather than dream of becoming the next Michael Jordan, dream of serving in the Kingdom of God.