No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Cor. 9:27
I hated daily doubles. As a freshman in high school, going out for the football team meant that before the school year even started, we would be called upon to go to the school for twice daily intense workouts. Mind you, this was in the hottest part of the summer. I remember being so overheated by the sun and by the workouts that I thought my head would explode. I dropped out of football my sophomore year. In truth, I probably would have continued with football, in spite of daily doubles, if it weren’t for my desire to make money! These were the weeks I made the most money all summer long working 80 hours a week selling corn dogs at the Oregon State Fair. I couldn’t see giving up that kind of money, making time and a half (which brought my wage up to more than $6 an hour!!!), to go workout in the hot sun for nothin’. Funny, I was willing to work the long hours for money, but not for football. Looking back, I now see that the money was far less significant than I thought it was then. I regret dropping out of football. Not that I would have ever gone on to greatness, but that I missed out on the joy of the competition, camaraderie, sport. Isn’t this true about all areas of life? For some things we are unwilling to sacrifice even a little, whereas we will sacrifice significantly for others. It’s all about priorities, values, desire. We are often willing to go to great lengths for the sake of the things that are most important to us. It is for this reason that, this morning, I was feeling especially convicted by Paul’s words above. Beat my body? I don’t think he’s talking about self-harm here. But I do think he’s talking about self-discipline. What is the context of this self-discipline? Why is it that he’s willing to undergo such extreme discomfort? One word: The Gospel. Alright, I guess that’s two words. But you get the point. If you read the entire chapter (I invite you to do so right now; go on, pause this blog and read 1 Corinthians 9) you find that it is for the sake of the Gospel, the Kingdom, Christ’s mission, that Paul is willing to discipline himself. A few years back, I had the privilege of joining Ranger Rick, my favorite hiking guide, on a gentle walk to the floor of the Grand Canyon (see pic above), then back up again (barely). Leading up to this trip, I disciplined myself to engage in some difficult hikes here in the PNW. There were times, on those hikes, especially when I was nearing the peaks, that I had to push myself to keep going, even though my legs felt like jelly and my chest was heaving with every breath. Why did I do it? I had a goal, a purpose, something I wanted enough to put up with the pain. What are the goals, in your life, for which you are willing to sacrifice? What are the things for which you are willing to rise early or go hard or make and follow through on commitments? Or maybe it’s a more indirect kind of discipline, like devotion to your 9-5 to make the funds to buy what it is that you really, really want. I wonder if there are any things in our lives for which we might look back, years from now, and wish that we’d chosen to invest ourselves differently, like me with daily doubles? I wonder if we will ever wonder why we gave so much to things that were so relatively insignificant? One thing I know full well, I’ve never regretted investments I’ve made in the kingdom of Christ. Never! The joy of seeing new life arise in another, to see hope replace hopelessness in someone with whom I’ve shared the Gospel (and my life), is always worth the investment. The blessings of growing together in Christ with His people is always worth the sacrifices of my time and money. The peace I derive from prioritizing daily time in Christ’s presence (when I do so!) is always worth the sacrifice. No regrets. It takes me back to words I read decades ago in Jerry Bridges spiritual classic, The Pursuit of Holiness: "There is no place for laziness and indulgence of the body in a disciplined pursuit of holiness. We have to learn to say no to the body instead of continually giving in to its momentary desires. We tend to act according to our feelings. The trouble is, we seldom “feel” like doing what we should do. We don’t feel like getting out of bed to have our morning time with God, or doing Bible study, or praying, or anything else we should do. That is why we have to take control of our bodies and make them our servants instead of our masters." I don’t know what this would look like for you. I am guessing that for all of us it may look a little different. But one thing’s for sure, there is no place for laziness in the pursuit of Christ and His Kingdom. My prayer for you is the same as the prayer I prayed for myself this morning: that God would help me to prioritize those things that matter to His kingdom and let me learn to say yes to Kingdom things and no to that which distracts, deters or even disqualifies me from the race to which I’ve been called.
1 Comment
Darryl Staszewski
4/29/2021 09:23:38 am
Thanks for your words.
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Dan GannonDan has ministered at Renton Bible Church, with his wife Debbie, since 2003. Archives
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