Stay the course
For those of you who know me, you know I am a baseball fan. I love the game, the strategy, the excitement. Now for some of my hockey fans they don’t get it. They think watching baseball is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But for the true baseball fan there is the game within the game. Will he steal? Will he pitch out? Will he sacrifice? Will the bull pen be able to hold the lead?
I coached baseball for many years when I lived in Winnipeg. I always told the boys who were going to play for me they needed three things: Head, Heart and Hustle.
- Head - they needed to learn the game, think about situations before they happened, anticipate and be ready to respond.
- Heart – Love the game. Bring out the best in your teammates. Come with a great attitude to every game and practice.
- Hustle – I was looking for a 100% effort. Run out every hit, give your best on every play.
Now what does all this have to do with staying the course? It has everything to do with it when you tie it to that most important word, integrity. You see over the last several years professional baseball players have been accused of taking PED’s. Performance Enhancing Drugs. So, the fellow who hit the most home runs in a season to my way of thinking has an * (asterisk) by his name. The fellow who hit the most home runs in a career, same thing, *. In other words, they didn’t do it fair and square, they wanted the goal so much they were willing to compromise their integrity to get it.
Reading Proverbs 4 today I came across these words of wisdom from Solomon,
My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. Proverbs 4:20-26
There is a danger as we continue this journey with Jesus to become distracted and lose sight of what God’s Word says, of what’s important. Let God’s truth go deep into your hearts, penetrating your minds and providing the foundation for every decision. Don’t compromise yourself to accomplish your goal. Guard your heart, Avoid perverse talk, Fix your eves on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path! Interpretation, live with integrity. Live in such a way there won’t be a asterisk after your name. He/she followed Jesus for a while but then… (you fill in the blank). Stay the course. Don’t allow the lure of this world to draw you away from the life that God desires for you.
grace to you, bob
