Your Kid Has Only a 0.0296% Chance

I know you think your kid is special. I am sure that he or she is. Every child has unique gifting, and, biased or not, your child is special.

Regardless of how gifted your kid is, he or she only has a 0.0296% chance.

Chance at what you ask?

There is a 0.0296% chance that your child will become a professional athlete, yet there is a 100% chance that your child will stand before Jesus one day.

And yet, as parents, what percentage of our time are we investing into those two scenarios?

If you take the amount of kids that do little league this or that and compare it to the number of athletes who make it professionally, the statistical chance is low. It is very low.

And if you think about how much time and money and resources we invest into something, it is shocking.

How many Saturdays do we give up for it? “Well, that’s what Saturdays are meant for.”

How many Sundays do we give up for it? “Well, we can go to church during the off-season and the coach prays before the travel meals.”

I know what your reply will be: I’m not doing it so that my child goes professional. I’m doing it for their development.

That makes sense.

Athletics is a great place for developing athletes, and church is a great place for making disciples.

So where will the focus be?

Can you do both? Sure, but it is almost like there are forces at large that want to see that reduction. It used to be that recreational sports could take a few hours a week and steered clear of certain times to ensure family and church got a priority, but not anymore. The pressure is that your child can’t even make the team unless he or she commits to an unreasonable amount of practices, travel, and sacrifices.

I know it is worth something, but is it worth what it truly is costing you?

Do you really want to use the majority of your child’s formative years preparing for a sport that a simple injury could halt or the statistical chance of continuation is abysmal?

As if the issue wasn’t already dangerous, the pandemic has allowed us to teach our children what we see as essential and what is expendable.

Many children have learned that ball practice is essential but church involvement is expendable.

That’s a scary thought to see the future health of the American church. We would make risks to make it to practice but worship was deemed dangerous.

There’s a limited chance that your child will make it pro, but there is a guaranteed chance he or she will face Jesus one day. And on that day, he will not ask if your child can field a grounder, make a penalty kick, sink a free throw, stick a landing, or surpass the previous record.

Is your child ready to meet Him?

Time is fleeting; the formative years are passing. What are we teaching our children to prioritize?