notyetproverbs31

“Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete,  he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.”  2 Timothy 2:5

According to my Bible, we are to train hard and play by the rules.  My understanding of it is that as a Christian we need to soak up every ounce of the Bible, let it seep into our pores.  We need to learn from His Word, understanding that others have gone before us and seek their wisdom to guide our decisions; our training.  Once we have trained hard it is relatively easy to play by the rules because we have trained hard by studying them.  Seems simple right?

This verse hit me pretty hard because of some things that have been happening around me lately.  What happens when those around you do not play by the rules?  Recently I have come across many people who are not playing by the rules such as lying, stealing, tearing another person down….”negative Nellie’s” (as my sister would say).  They have been ever-present, no matter where I go and it has become so spiritually draining.  Now I know that it is my job, when this happens, to go deeper in my training but for some reason that just was not the case.  All I wanted to do was take a break and that sounds so insane for me to say but that is the only way I can explain it; temporary insanity.  Confession time:  I stepped away for a while, just disappointed that people could be that way.

At church the other day, the Associate Pastor gave a message on 2 Timothy and I just could not let it go.  After some prayer time, I re-read the text and this verse screamed at me.  He was telling me that I should basically know better.  I need to train for the Eternal victor’s crown and not worry about how everyone else is training.

Okay Coach, I will play by the rules because the victory of the Game is more important than how others are playing it.

Not Yet But Getting There (notyetproverbs31)