Dikembe Mutombo: Big; Nice Guy.

If you ever find a list of all around good guy athletes (especially good guy NBA players) Dikembe Mutombo will almost certainly be near the top of the list. He's well known in particular for his efforts to improve living conditions in The Republic of Congo, where he's originally from, going as far as donating more than 15 million dollars to building a hospital with modern facilities. That doesn't mean he's been without his controversy.

Mutombo has been known particularly for two strikes against him; taunting after blocking a shot, and dangerously flailing his elbows. With regards to the taunting, he would wave his finger in front of a player after blocking a shot, as if he was a parent that just took away a cookie from a mischievous child. It got bad enough that the league started calling a technical foul on him for Unsportsmanlike Conduct when he would do it. As for the arm waving, he's a big guy, and he plays aggressively, which causes him to push people away violently some times. In his own words, he doesn't mean to hurt anyone, but his position demands physical play, and the best he can do is to say Sorry, and move on.

I highlight Mutombo because he's a great example of how one can live their life in the world but still donate the fruits to God. Mutombo isn't a perfect man; he clearly has his faults, but he still makes great strides in giving the fruits of his labor to God. While it's good to try to strive for godliness in the work that you do, if you find joy in something and you're good at it, then you can use it for God. While I don't advocate sinking to obvious sin (don't become a mercenary assassin or anything) there's no reason secular work can't be used for God.

I once heard a speaker in college tell a shy Electrical Engineer, "If you're good at making money, go make money." God can use your pension for making money in extraordinary ways, and he did that with Dikembe Mutombo. He's used his basketball ability to build a hospital in the Congo, and he can use your difficult job to accomplish great things too. This isn't easy though; it requires incredible faith, diligence, and humility to keep relying on God. That said, God believes in you, else he wouldn't have put you where you are. Trust in God and give over the fruits of your labor, and be amazed at what he does with them.

"He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building." -- 1st Corinthians 3: 8-9