Humility and Discipline

Sports will always be somewhat of a mystery to me. I never really quite cared for them much, especially the ones where you competed as a group. I never liked the idea that I could be responsible for someone else’s failure; and I never really cared enough about winning to make the needed effort. That is, until my senior year of high school.

I had been competing in Track for the past two years and was frustrated that I hadn’t received a letter yet. I had really wanted the letter so I could sew it on my letterman’s jacket next to all my scholarly letters so people wouldn’t think I was such a nerd. I really disliked the fact that when people asked what I lettered in I had to answer, academics. It just isn’t cool.

Most everyone else on the team had already received at least one letter, so I though that I should have gotten one too. My problem was that even though I usually showed up to practice and competed in the events, I had no discipline. I ran when and what I felt like running, and I practiced what I thought needed to be practiced. I did this even sometimes in spite of what my coach had told me I should do. As a result, I was never put on the varsity team and therefore not eligible for a letter.

In 2 Timothy 2:5, it says, "If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victors crown unless he competes according to the rules." In my track experience I wanted the prize, a letter, but I wasn’t willing to submit myself to the instruction of my coach. In the same way, many people want the promises God has given us, but we aren’t willing to give up our own self will to get them. We get lazy and prideful and think we know best how to live our lives. Eventually we will come to a point where we realize that we can never attain our desire doing things our own way. When we get to this crossroad we have two options: We can either give up entirely and say to ourselves that we never really wanted the prize in the first place, that it is stupid, or that it is impossible to attain so why try? Our other option is to give up our own plan of attack and listen to our coach. This requires humility and discipline. Humility, in admitting that your coach can instruct you better than you can yourself, and discipline to do things that will hurt and that are in general not much fun. But if the prize is desirable enough to you, you will do it.

During my senior year of high school I finally realized that in order to get a letter, I had to heed my coach's instructions. I started to do his exercises and practice what he said to practice. I was put on the varsity team and placed high enough in my events to receive a letter on the first track meet of the season. I finally received my letter; but not before I received a much more valuable lesson in humility and discipline.

In life we have rules; and no, they were not made just to be broken. I think they were made to separate the law abiders from the law breakers; the disciplined from the undisciplined; the prideful from the humble. God made them to give us the option to humble ourselves and trust his word. In 1 Corinthians 9:24 it says, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." Notice that it does not say "run in such a way TO get the prize" but "as to" get the prize. Being the best isn’t the point. What God is looking for is a humble heart and a determined mind. Those are the ones who God promises a crown that will last forever. Do you want such a crown? Are you willing to humble yourself and trust God?