We've been looking in this sermon series at how we might better order our private world. We've looked first at motivation--being called vs. being driven, then at the use of time. Last week we explored how we might develop and renew our minds to think differently and think theologically. This week, we look at how we can develop spiritual strength--how we might train our spiritual lives for the marathon of life.
The passage we focus on this morning is Paul's Letter to the Corinthians and knowing the background helps us here. Corinth, of course, was a cosmopolitan city in the ancient world, sitting on an Isthmus through which much of the commerce of the Roman empire passed. Corinth was also famous for holding the Isthmian Games--like the Olympics. Writing to the Corinthians, Paul used metaphors from the games to talk about how he had developed spiritual strength and endurance and to encourage them to do the same. Paul used this metaphor in several of his letters, including 2 Timothy, where Paul says that all those who run well, all those who “exercise self-control,” all those who “do not run aimlessly,” all those who discipline their bodies and become master of them — will be given the laurel wreath, the prize, the glory! Everyone has an opportunity to gain what Paul describes at the end of his life as a “crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:8). It’s a crown, or a prize, that God will give him, he says, because he has “fought the good fight, ... finished the race, ... [and] kept the faith” (4:7).
He also says that his is a prize that the Lord will give him not only, but “all who have longed for his appearing” (4:8) (emphasis added).
To the Corinthians, he argues, however, that winning is going to take a lot more than “long[ing] for his appearing.”
To be a winner, he says, you need to train and run with determination. “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training,” he notes (1 Corinthians 9:25, NIV).
You all have a chance to win, but not all of you will.
Oh, you’ll get to the Big Show, you’re already entered in the race. No question there. But will your life, your race, be about anything else?
Here, then, is Paul’s message: It matters how you live your life! It matters how you run the race! It matters how you prepare and train and conduct yourself.
You can’t just get to the event and congratulate yourself for showing up. The hard part is just beginning. In fact, the apostle points to four factors that can influence the race of our lives--four avenues toward building spiritual strength.
The first is self-control. “Athletes exercise self-control in all things” (9:25). A winner is someone who is able to control the self. She or he holds the reins and can think clearly when under stress or temptation.
If self-control is important in sports, it's even more important in our private world. The self does our bidding, and not vice versa. It’s an important concept: Peter mentions it in a list of virtues (2 Peter 1:5ff). Paul includes it in his list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians (5:23).
Someone with control of self is able to say “No” to the self. That person is able to eat one potato chip, is able to complete a task although tired and bored, is able to observe social, moral and ethical boundaries in the commerce of life, is able to delay or defer or even deny gratification. A person who has self-control is a person who is going to go a long way down the track.
Self-control also means being able to do the right thing at the right moment, when the pressure is on. When an athlete performs well at a critical moment, we call them a “clutch” player. Clutch players are able to slow the game down, think through their options, and calmly execute.
When I was growing up, my hero was Roberto Clemente, the hall of fame right fielder for the Pirates. Clemente was one of the best clutch players in baseball history, always giving the timely hit or making the impossible throw. I so wanted to be like him. I used to put on my Roberto Clemente batting helmet and pick up my bat with “21” on the knob and stand out in the back yard with the transistor radio on, imitating everything he did. I had the batting stance down! I wanted to be the one up to bat with two outs, a 3-2 count, bases loaded, bottom of the ninth, behind by a run and, like Roberto, make that key hit.
But what was most interesting about Clemente was that his clutch performances extended off the field, too. He was a person who would do the right thing when it needed done, like ferrying supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua—which cost him his life in a plane crash. Clutch players, people who exercise self-control, do the right thing no matter what it costs.
How does one achieve self-control? The first step in that is thinking outside of ourselves. Spiritually speaking, one of the best ways we can work out of a self-centered way of thinking is to engage in prayer.
Prayer turns our focus to God and opens us to listening to God. That's what prayer really is. Many people are uncomfortable with prayer because it seems a bit unnatural, but maybe even more because prayer forces us to admit where we're weak. Athletes try to turn their liabilities into strengths and that's what prayer does for us.
I've never had much success with prayer as an "activity." You know, fold your hands, bow your head, close your eyes…that's just not where A church member once quoted to me an old African proverb that says, "If you really want to pray, move your feet." To me, that means prayer is more a way of life than an activity. I pray best when I'm walking or when I'm reading because I tend to access my spirituality through my mind. Others might find themselves feeling better by being in a quiet place or focusing on a list of people and concerns. Prayer is really about intentionally putting ourselves in the presence of God--however that works for each of us.
I think we all need some instruction in how to pray. Jesus' disciples asked him to teach them how to do it, so we should, too. That's a whole sermon series in and of itself! I've read several books over the last few years that address the issue of prayer. If you're wrestling with how to pray, like I have, then I'd invite you to check one of these out (I'll list them on the blog) or give me a call and we'll work on it together. Or, better yet, find a friend or mentor who has a dynamic prayer life and pick their brain (and spirit) for awhile. There's no better teacher than a good role model!
One of the other ways to achieve self-control, though, involves others. We all need accountability to someone else--people who we can trust and with whom we can share our struggles. I'm very fortunate to have a great spouse with whom I can be fully transparent, as well as a couple of great friends who I can always count on to hear my deepest thoughts and put them in perspective. Knowing that I'm accountable to them helps me keep my head about me when temptation or frustration rear their ugly heads.
A second aspect of building spiritual strength, according to Paul, is a sense of purpose. “So I do not run aimlessly” (9:26). Paul’s saying here that we’ve got to be in it to win it. Without purpose, you’re not going to get very far, or if you do go far, you’ll arrive and not know where you are.
Eighty-seven percent of Americans own running shoes but don’t run. Why? They may lack self-control, but more likely, they have no sense of purpose. They have intentions, but not purpose. There is no agenda, no plan, no vision, no strategy.
So the shoes sit there. Gather dust. We sit there. We gather rust. We lose. You can’t win a marathon by continually stuffing twinkies in your face.
It’s more than just showing up. Like I once heard it said, “Sitting in church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes you a car.” You have to work at it!
Then, there’s the matter of efficiency, choosing your battles. “Nor do I box as though beating the air” (9:26). Boxer Muhammed Ali was a master of getting his opponents to wear themselves out by punching wildly or punching harmlessly. It was the so-called “Rope-a-Dope” strategy. Ali would get backed up into the ropes and let his opponents flail away. After they had done this for six or seven rounds, they tired, and Ali, relatively fresh, was more often than not able to deliver a knockout blow.
Christians in training are not about knockout blows, but they do understand the importance of conserving their energies for the things that really matter in life. They understand that one can get really, really tired of doing stupid stuff that doesn’t matter. Smart Christians invest their training and their efforts in things that build them up and make them stronger.
Finally, there’s discipline. “I punish my body and enslave it” (9:27). Here, Paul notes the pain that can be involved for those who aspire to win. It’s not to promote a sort of muscular Christianity, but instead to note that being faithful to your faith, being true to the course you’ve chosen, sometimes is going to be very painful.
Discipline is hard. We'd much rather give in to those things that make us feel good but that aren't necessarily good for us. Discipline means we have to be willing to make hard decisions that cost us something. Positions may be taken that will invite confusion and misunderstanding. Decisions will be made that may incite reaction and dismay.
But in that pain you stay the course and you stay on the course.
And don’t think that the race is ever over. It’s not and it won’t be until the last day when Christ appears.
Theologically, what we’re talking about here is the Wesleyan idea of Christian perfection…a goal to work toward. Perfection in this sense means maturity, completeness, wholeness. John Wesley believed that this was the goal of the Christian life…not simply getting to heaven. We strive to be more Christ-like, to live in God’s grace, to grow deeper in our relationship with God. That’s a life-long pursuit. You never graduate from Sunday School, in other words…no certificate to signify that you’ve completed the course. It’s about daily training and growing toward the image of God.
Following Christ isn’t easy and the stakes are much higher. It takes training, it takes effort, it takes perseverance and commitment. Church rolls are filled with the names of people who have fallen by the wayside…lost their will, didn’t stay in spiritual shape, simply quit. If we’re going to follow Christ, we have to be prepared to do it for the long haul.
Even Paul said that he did not consider himself to have finished the race (Philippians 3). So, let’s be careful to avoid celebrating too early with our tasks unfinished and our goals unmet.
Just remember Olympic runner, Suzy Hamilton.
On February 6, 1994, Hamilton competed in the Mobil Invitational track meet in Virginia. Here’s a description of what happened : “Runners needed to complete eight laps to win the mile. That concept eluded Hamilton, who sprinted past the competition at the end of lap seven, then stunned the crowd by doing a Deion Sanders-style victory jig. That every other runner was still doing Mach 3 as they burned by alerted Hamilton that something was wrong. But, by then, she was three time zones behind and didn’t even bother to rejoin the race.”
You have to finish well, and run the whole distance.
My prayer is that our church can be a place where people are training and getting energized to live lives worthy of Christ. That we don’t simply rest on our laurels, quit early, or burn out too fast. That we are not a church of “wanna-be” Christians, but diligent followers of Christ who are willing to pay a personal price in order to be Christ’s partners in changing the world.
The immediate awards are few…the eternal ones significant.
My mom was the one who really taught me about spiritual strength. Mom was not a runner by any stretch of the imagination, but she was certainly in training her whole life. My earliest memories of my mom are of her studying her Bible at the kitchen table--a really big parallel Bible. I saw her praying often and knew that she prayed for our family and others. She never missed worship and made sure we were there, instilling in me a sense of the importance of being in God's presence. Even after she passed away, I still went to church every week because it had become a habit, a discipline.
I think that one of the greatest ways we develop spiritual strength is by watching and imitating others who have it. For me it was my mom and, later, others who I've admired for their character, their devotion, and their faithfulness to God. Many people here use a personal trainer when it comes to their physical workouts, but the truth is that we need spiritual trainers as well.How would you evaluate your own spiritual strength? What kind of program of growth would be helpful to you?
How will you develop the disciplines necessary to really "go on to perfection?" These are the questions that can really help order our private worlds.
Thank you for the lessons I have learned by reading your blog. Discipline is what we really should learn to be able to withstand the pain and win. It is important that we equip ourselves with right discipline and strategy to overcome the challenges that we are facing.
http://www.muhammad-ali.co.uk
Posted by: Carlos | February 18, 2013 at 07:48 PM