Constructive Use of Time

Young people need opportunities—outside of school—to learn and develop new skills and interests with other youth and adults. A religious community is a perfect collaboration for achieving this asset.

Religious community

Youth attends religious programs or services one or more times per week.

The Sports Analogy

The New Testament uses several athletic metaphors in discussing Christianity, especially in the Pauline epistles and the Epistle to the Hebrews. These metaphors draw heavily on the tradition of the Olympic Games, and this may have influenced the New Testament's use of the imagery.

The word athletics is derived from a Greek word meaning "to contend for a prize." Before the conquests of Alexander the Great (332 B.C.) and the subsequent spread of Greek, or Hellenistic, culture, athletics, and games were uncommon in Palestine, especially among the Jewish people.

The metaphor of running a race “with perseverance” appears in Hebrews 12:1 and related metaphors appear in Philippians 2:16, Galatians 2:2, and Galatians 5:7. In 2 Timothy 4:7, Paul writes “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-26, written to the city that hosted the Isthmian Games, the metaphor is extended from running to other games, such as boxing to make the point that winning a prize requires discipline, self-control, and coordinated activity.

More than Conquerors is about this Spiritual Life, these Spiritual Games so to speak. More than Conquerors is not about showing up at Church every Sunday, but more about showing up and competing in your spiritual life every day. It is about winning the prize. It is about the discipline required to compete, the self-control necessary to grapple with life, and the coordinated activity necessary to stay in the running for the prize.

Constructive Use of Time is one of the four categories of External Assets of the 40 Developmental Assets® framework. Identified by Search Institute® these building blocks of healthy development—known as Developmental Assets®—help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible. Religious Community is one of the 40 assets in the external asset category of Constructive Use of Time.