Sharapova Talks of God

It was a sensational victory for Maria Sharapova, gifted with beauty and talent, in the recently concluded U.S. Open tennis championship.

It’s amazing how the 19-year-old tennis star demolished the defending champion and world #1 woman player Amelie Mauresmo with a lopsided 6-0, 4-6, 6-0 score.

Was Amelie distracted by her opponent’s beauty or was her focus not on the ball but on something else?

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What’s inspiring with Sharapova is that even at the crest of success, she hasn’t forgotten to recognize the role of God in her life. Listen to her "homily" about succeeding enunciated days before the US Open.

"What tennis has brought me has been incredible. God gave me a talent, but it was up to me to play my part in it.

"I don’t believe in just Godgiven talent, you have to work for everything you earn and I think the combination has helped me."

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Briefly, Sharapova is saying that God blesses us with talents but it’s up to us to do our counterpart in order to succeed. That "counterpart" means concretely a lot of sacrifice, long and dreary hours of practice, self-discipline and perseverance. Remember the dictum: "What you are is God’s gift to you; what you become is your gift to God."

Sharapova’s religious principle is something we all can learn from, not only in sports but in all human endeavors – academics, business, positions of leadership.