• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • 30 Minute Broadcasts
  • One Minute Features
  • Subscribe to Podcast
Trace Embry | License to Parent
  • Home
  • About
    • License to Parent Radio Demo
  • Subscribe to Podcast
  • Contact/Press Kit
  • Donate
  • Endorsements
  • Resources
    • Shepherds Hill Academy Free Parenting Resources
    • Enough Is Enough Internet Safety 101
  • Smarterphone
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS Feed
  • 30 Minute Broadcasts
  • One Minute Features
  • Subscribe to Podcast

Sunday, May 7th, 2017

What the Bible can Teach Us About Participation Trophies [One Minute Feature]

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Subscribe

Many parents have been in a situation where, at the end of the sports season, the coaches begin to hand out participation trophies. Instead of rewarding individual achievements like “Most Improved” or “Most Valuable Player,” they give every player a prize.

What the Bible can Teach Us About Participation Trophies [One Minute Feature]

But when awards are removed from accomplishment, what value do they truly hold? As parents, we must teach our children to value hard work and true achievement.

Why Awards for Achievement are Better than Participation Trophies

In Romans 12:3, the Apostle Paul writes, “…Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment…” With the perspective of this verse, it seems that a great deal of us make a joke out of actual achievements by permitting our children to “win” the same awards for simply participating as those children who actually accomplished something.

Awarding prizes for achievement is the American way, and beyond that, it’s the way that the Bible promotes as well. As 1 Corinthians 9:24 reminds us, there is only one who wins the prize and that requires going through strict training.

The next time someone rewards you or your kids with a prize without an achievement, try rejecting it. This will be a teachable moment for both your children and our culture. Small consolation prizes are one thing, but only the winner should take home the greatest award.

Picture Provided by: terren in Virginia

Shepherds Hill Academy: Transforming Lives, Transforming Culture

Endorsements

Trace Embry on WFAX
"It is such a wonderful, God inspired thing you have done to help all of these children. I think people would love to read your book and learn more. You have helped changed so many lives, people will want to realize & learn about the work you are doing. It is so important." - Doris Newcomb, WFAX
“The License to Parent broadcast teaches timeless biblical principles and provides real answers to parenting.” - Dr. David Barton, Wallbuilders
All endorsers

Top Content

  • The Miracles of SHA with Trace Embry
  • Why Chaperoning Dates For Your Teen is S...
  • Does American Culture Prompt Us to Disre...
  • How Families Can Benefit From Simply Bei...
  • Soft Drinks

About Me

I am the Founder of Shepherd’s Hill Academy, a Christ-Centered, nature-based, therapeutic boarding school, the Host of License to Parent, and the Author of the book “The Miracles of Shepherd’s Hill:  An Extraordinary Odyssey of Divine Interventions.”  The environment at Shepherd’s Hill Academy is intentionally designed to provide a rich, discipleship-focused atmosphere that promotes physical, emotional, and spiritual health and healing to troubled teenager and their families.  Learn More

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS Feed

© 2025 License to Parent. Site by MWI.