I read this the other day:
"let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Hebrews 12:1)
Whenever I've read that before, my thoughts have gone to the "sin that so easily entangles" part. Obviously, as sinful patterns of both thought and behavior are dealt with in my life, I'm going to be more of who God created me to be. I'll be better able to carry out that which He's given me to do. That's the easy part of understanding Hebrews 12:1.
The part I haven't spent too much time thinking about in the past is the first part, the "everything that hinders" part. It's mentioned separately from the "sin that entangles" part, isn't it? It's definitely got me thinking now. I remember as a young assistant coach when I would attend our annual parent meeting, listening to our Head Coach explain to parents that our athletes' priorities during the season were intended to be their faith, family, academics and football, in that order. After that there was a line that said something like, "Notice this list does not include girlfriend, job, or car". Why? In the right context, what's wrong with a girlfriend, job or car? Nothing at all. Certainly many of our players had one or more of these while they played for us. But the message was clear -- there are some parts of life more important than what we're doing here, and there are many that are not. I always enjoyed that part of the parent meeting, because it reminded me that as a staff we knew there were good things that could get in the way of better things, and we did our best to ensure that our players and their families understood that as well.
In my life, what are the good things that have begun to hinder me? What good things do I need to throw off in favor of better things? At different points in my life that list has included everything from video games to fantasy football to cake. What is it right now? What is holding me back from running the race marked out for me, and do I have the wisdom to recognize it and the courage to throw it off?
80's Lyric
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