It’s no secret that American Olympic gold medalist and hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone thanks God for all her success.
In her upcoming book, she wants fans and readers to know that they should reject perfectionism because “the only perfect one is Christ.”
‘The One Thing That’s Unchanging is My Faith in Christ and That is the Most Valuable Thing’
Promoting her book, Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith, Levrone elaborated on her faith in an interview with The Christian Post.
Levrone said of her career and life, “it’s not about medals or records or titles; all of those are going to perish.”
“The one thing that’s unchanging is my faith in Christ and that is the most valuable thing,” she said, and that “being able to share that truth with people and allow them to come to know and love the Lord in the way in which I have come to know and love.”
The story continued:
“God has been so kind in just allowing me the opportunity to, first of all, fail without Him and realize my need for Him,” she said. “Living my life for so long apart from Him and trying to succeed in a worldly measure of what success looks like, it always left me empty even when I attained it.”
Levrone characterized perfection as “unattainable in this life,” urging readers to “always strive for excellence” and “always strive to do things … in a manner worthy of the calling of God.”
She added, “At the end of the day, we are fallen, sinful humans who will fall short in this life.”
“In trying to attain perfection, we’re diminishing the need for Christ,” she said. “In appreciating Him as our Savior, we humble ourselves to realize that we are not perfect.”
Faith is Everything for Levrone
“The Lord is sufficient in all things, and being able to glorify Him through my career and through my life on the track has shown me a purpose bigger than myself,” Levrone added. “Being able to share the Gospel in those moments is what it’s all about. The point is being able to show that even in what should be the pinnacle of your career, as an athlete, is actually about Him.”
She’s a great athlete, but nothing means more to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone than her relationship with God.
That’s something many of us can get behind and follow her example.
