The past two weeks were part of a short series on what I
see as some of the “E”ssentials of true success – victorious living… (things
like Execution of the game plan; Ethics; Effort; and Esprit de Corps…). Here is
the basic intro again to this series:
“I recently had a discussion with my pastor and he
asked me a basic question: “How do you define success or victory in the
Christian life? –or- “What does a mature Christian look like?”
That is a loaded question because there are so many
things talked about in Scripture on what a victorious / mature believer looks
like. Yet many of those things are subjective instead of objective (things that
don’t necessarily show up on life’s scoreboard.) I think that is why often
churches get caught up in the legalism of defining success as “not
participating in the works of the flesh.” That is easier to gauge than things
like the fruit of the Spirit, etc.
In sports we tend to look at won-loss records for a
season or the scoreboard for a game; yet I have never defined success that way
for the teams I coached. (Of course some might say it is because I didn’t often
see the positive side of the scoreboard or the win-loss column…)
In all honesty I can say there were times my teams won
on the scoreboard yet I didn’t feel victorious; and there were times we lost on
the scoreboard but I was beaming with pride! And in all honesty I can say that
there have been times in life where I appeared to be “winning” and didn’t feel
victorious; and times I appeared to be “losing” but felt incredible pride and
contentment in knowing my Lord was pleased…
After all the goal of a minister is to present
believers as complete or mature in their walks… (Colossians 1:28)”
This week: Effort (not excuses)
I will have to be brief as my computer has a bad battery
life and I am not sure where the cord is in the midst of the move… but no
excuses; I need to follow through with the plan!
Immediately on thinking about the idea of “effort” I thought
of what Coach Rick Lewis of Phenom Hoops Report calls the “motor guys”; these
are the ones that don’t take any plays off and give maximum effort. Those are
the guys I love to coach – they are not changed by the scoreboard
(circumstances); they just do their job to the best of their ability.
How about you? God has called you to a life of excellence
and given you a game plan that we talk about weekly. Are you following through
or making excuses? Are you doing everything as “unto the Lord”? Read Colossians 3:17 and 23; these are
familiar verses used in athletics but refer to all of life!
God is looking for some “motor guys and gals”!
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