Dwight Howard

The other night I was watching the NBA Finals with my family and trying, desperately, to keep up with who was who and how to pronounce their last name (like Turkoglu or Alstin). I asked about one player on the Magic team and Joseph told me that his name was Dwight Howard and that he was a Christian. My dad confirmed this and shared that one of Howard’s characteristics that set him apart from others was that he didn’t “showboat” like the others do. Unlike his teammates and even opponents, Howard doesn’t praise himself every time he makes a basket or a good play. He recognizes that his talent is not really his own at all and hopes that God will be given the glory, not himself.

“I'm not trying to give glory for myself. I'm trying to give glory for Him.” -Howard*

Even I could tell a difference as I watched Howard play. He just had a different sort of attitude than the rest of the team and I’m sure the audience could tell, as well as his teammates. Here, I saw an example of a human being using his God-given gifts in a public setting for His glory. Of course, I don’t know whether or not Dwight is sharing his faith off the courts or what, but I do know that he is at least setting a new kind of example that changes the tone of the team.

In my opinion, Dwight Howard is an awesome example of what we need – Christians who are excellent at what they do and are not afraid to be active in the non-churchy world. They are unique in the public arena and have a huge stage from which to share of God’s unconditional love. Ultimately, this life is all about God. We are only living here on earth to enjoy/please God and to tell the world about Him. I believe, furthermore, that God has created us all in such a fashion that we each have different ways of enjoying/pleasing/sharing God and His message – we are to use our gifts and let others benefit from them. As far as I can tell, that is exactly what Dwight Howard is doing.

*Link