In all areas, the Christian coach must walk a fine line between the world’s standard of success and God’s standard of success.

"An excellent wife, who can find? She is worth so much more than money" (Proverbs 31:10).

This well-known proverb gets our attention by posing a rhetorical question." An excellent coach, who can find?" It seems that the author is making the observation that finding an excellent coach could be difficult to do, and if you do find one, she is invaluable. Her worth is so great that it can't be measured by normal monetary standards. 

By definition, if something is excellent, it is of the finest quality, exceptionally good, superb, masterful and splendid. As a woman who serves in many roles (wife, mother, friend, coach), I'd love to be described by any one of those adjectives. My heart's desire is to lead a life of excellence.  

But why is personal excellence so hard to find in the coaching ranks? The pressures of winning and the cut-throat nature of competitive sports tend to minimize godly character and foster all manner of harsh, unkind and mean-spirited attitudes.

The Christian coach, at all levels, is under constant scrutiny and must walk a fine line between the world’s standard of success and God’s standard of success. I believe we see throughout this proverb a challenging and insightful example of God’s standard of success: personal excellence!

For the Christian coach, to have personal excellence means to be completely yielded to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of life, and therefore she coaches, mentors, serves and loves her players selflessly. And, she offers to her players the most valuable thing she has—Jesus!   

Proverbs 11:30(NASB) says, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls."

Prayer

Dear Lord, I want to be an excellent coach! Show me Your standard of excellence in every aspect of my coaching, and let me coach in a manner that is life-giving, up-lifting and soul-winning.