Ch. 3 – Training vs. Trying

            I embarrassed my son this past weekend in front of his teammates. I don’t make a habit of doing that unless I feel it’s really necessary, but in this case I did. I had arrived at his soccer game a little late because I had to pick up his sister from cross country practice. When I arrived my wife Sherry updated me on how the match was going. Apparently not too well, many of the kids were not hustling and in fact, many were standing around a lot. I’m not a soccer player and I don’t know a lot about the game, but I do know, if you’re on the field and the ball is anywhere near you, you better not be standing around. So my son Jon is one of the culprits, and again, usually I would not do this, but I made my way around the field when Jon was taken out of the game and proceeded to let him know my displeasure in his efforts on the field. Now, I didn’t yell at him, so get that maniac parent imagine yelling at their kid out of your heads. I just pulled him aside, but I spoke loud enough for his other teammates to hear (because they were loafing too). Anyway, my displeasure wasn’t in him or his lack of ability to score a goal. My displeasure was in his effort. He had broken a family value, “whatever we do, we do it with all our heart”. Jon was loafing and wasn’t giving a 100% on the field, which is a big no no in the Hight household. It doesn’t matter to me if he ever scores a goal or if he strikes out in the batter’s box or if he only gets B’s and C’s on he’s report card. My main concern is that he tries his best, that he works hard, and that he gives it a 110%.
 

Now how does this relate to our reading in chapter 3? Well, Ortberg does a wonderful job of explaining why so many people get disillusioned by the Christian walk when they try sooooo hard not to sin or to change, but they keep failing, failing—over and over again. Then he references how Greek athletes in Biblical times striving for the prize “by simply trying really hard apart from training was unthinkable” (p.44). So it is with Paul, to simple try to be Godly apart from training to be Godly was unthinkable to him.

 

Back to my son Jon, he now understands better than ever, that his father expects maximum effort from him. However, what if this was Jon’s first soccer game, what if Jon had never practiced a lick of soccer in his life? Would I be justified in my indignation for his efforts? No, I would not. It wouldn’t make sense to be displeased with lack of effort. However, I would be displeased at his lack of practice.

 

This is what Ortberg is getting at in this chapter. Too many Christians try their hardest to change, but they don’t train for change. Or as Ortberg puts it, “transformation isn’t a matter of trying harder, but of training wiser”.

 

1 Timothy 4:7 (says)  …train yourself to be godly. ⁸ “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” ⁹ This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. ¹⁰ This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.
 

From here on out we’ll examine the different spiritual disciplines in each of the following chapters. I want to encourage you to take each chapter to heart and engage in each discipline given. When I say engage, I mean take time to do them. Remember, these disciplines are valuable because they “allow us to do what we cannot do by willpower alone” (p.48). If you have questions about how to practice any one of them contact me and I’d be glad to help you in your spiritual training.

 

As I mentioned above, I know little about soccer, but I do know baseball. I’ve been coaching on and off for the past 20 years. It’s so rewarding to see the kids progress from the first day of practice though the end of the year. However, what’s really embarrassing is the child that doesn’t progress. I’ve only seen it once in my 20 years with the boys I’ve coached. And that’s because I never really got the chance to coach this particular kid. He seldom showed up for practice and when he did he was always late. He never showed up for pre-game practice and he barely made it to the game on time. However, when it was time to play, he tried really hard to hit the ball, but he constantly failed. He failed because he didn’t train like the rest of the boys. It was embarrassing to watch, especially as the season came to close and there was little to no progress in his skills.

 

Now, the embarrassment I felt for this child is nothing compared to the embarrassment God feels for his children who do not mature in their spiritual life.

 Hebrews 5:11-14 (NLT) ¹¹ There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. ¹² You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. ¹³ For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. ¹⁴ Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

 

So this is the no turning back part of this study. These first few chapters were designed to pump you up and get you ready for your spiritual training. You might be trying really hard to change your life right now and you might be feeling like a big disappointment to God. It doesn’t have to be that way. Commit today to quit trying so hard and instead commit to start training hard. I invite you into the Lord’s Gym. It’s going to take some time and sweat, but as you will learn in the next chapter, it can be an enjoyable process and I promise you—it will be rewarding!!!

 

Thanks again for stopping in and I encourage you to comment about your progress along the way. Your success moments are encouraging to others.

 

Let’s Do This!!!

Blessings, Jason