Perfect Practice

In today's reading, we see God sending His prophet to admonish the people of Israel for their false religious observances (practice). Even though they were "observing" the day of fasting, they were doing so in a wrong way and attitude. The root problem is people who observe spiritual disciplines for selfish reasons - to gain God's blessings while ignoring the hunger, poverty, homelessness; and nakedness of those in need. IN the world of sports, we see this all too often. Players who show up to practice and games with the intent of making it all about them. It is about their stats, their glory, WHILE the glory of the outcome of the game and the well-being of their teammates is secondary to their selfish desires. One great coach said: "He who plays for himself plays for the enemy. He who plays for the team plays for himself."

It is when the player can combine the two elements of self-improvement, hard work, and a high standard of play with the desire of doing so for the benefit of his teammates and the greater glory of the game that true greatness will follow.

It is clear to see in this reading that the people were practicing in a way not pleasing to God. They were faithfully keeping the lesser parts of the law while neglecting "the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith." Make no mistake, the "lesser" and the "greater" are both mandatory for the fulfillment of God's purpose. In the world of sports, we say that only perfect practice makes perfect. This is not an easy endeavor. In a book called "The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance," the author, Andrew Ericsson, makes the assertion: "when it comes to choosing a life path, you should do what you love because if you don't love it, you are unlikely to work hard enough to be very good. It takes a lot of hard work and time to become a very good athlete. It must be his focus, desire, a daily preoccupation to be the very best he can be. The love of doing will be at the very center of the quest. The same can be said of doing God's will. We are to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. To.is is the only way to be pleasing unto Christ, "and when we cry for help the Lord will answer".

The prayer of Generosity speaks to these issues in a very clear way: "Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not heed the wounds, to labor and not seek to rest, to give of my self and not to ask for a reward, except the reward of knowing that I am doing your will."

So, let us go forth and be this person who practices the perfect word of God in a perfect way. In 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 we read: "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work."

Author: Charlie DeLong, Athletics