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Of Coaches, Rulebooks, And Mirrors


This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. (I Timothy 4:9-13)
 

          Continuing with yesterday’s theme of getting spiritual…spiritual – building our muscles of godliness, here is Paul’s exercise program. He labored and strove to put his hope in the living God. How do you lift weights? Is your count: “one, two, three, four, five” for five repetitions, or is it “one... two… three… four… five… one… two… three… four…five…that’s one…” Before my coach slowed me down, I thought I was going slowly. I was also lifting heavier weights than I do now because my muscles didn’t have to work as hard for as long. Hope is about what isn’t immediate and quick.
         The second aspect of Paul’s routine was to set an example in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. My coach instructed me about this, too. It’s not just “slow and in control” but proper form. Good athletes become good athletes because they practice the basics so much that those things become the norm. They don’t have to think about standing up straight or catching the ball because they have done it so many times their bodies just do it. This is what we need to do about our speech, our lives, our love, our faith and our purity. We need to get our form right and do these things perfectly over and over until we just do them as part of our lives. 
          Where do we find proper form? In the Scripture that we read daily. The Holy Spirit is our coach, but the Bible our rule book, our Hall of Fame, and our mirror. In it, we see others doing it right and wrong, and we see ourselves. It is our most important tool for spiritual fitness, but too often, we invite those who don’t know what they’re doing to act as our coaches, or we pick up a book and read ten pages once and think we know it all. Then we wonder how we end up hurt.

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