Participating in sports has never been one of my priorities in life. If all sports events were banned from television, my life would not be impacted in the least. In fact, I would not even know about it unless someone told me or I read it in the news. But there is one exception for me: I enjoy watching the local children playing ball.

In recent weeks, Gale and I have watched the eight and nine-year-old boys on the All Star baseball team. I have to admire their devotion that brings them to practice and play even on the hottest days.

During a recent game, it was especially apparent to me that they had improved tremendously from what they were earlier. They had progressed from scrambling around trying to figure out what to do next to making spontaneous decisions and moves during the game. The team is to be commended for learning to work together.

While again admitting that my knowledge of sports is pathetically limited, even I understand something powerfully important that has gone into bringing improvements to the young All Stars and their game: they have been practicing on a regular basis.

Just as regular and intensive practice makes better athletes, the practice of spiritual disciplines brings victory to us in our lives and service for God. Pay attention to the words in I Corinthians 9:24-25: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such as 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”

NIV).

The “strict training” pertaining to spiritual life that Paul mentioned in I Corinthians 9 comes with a personal price that the half-hearted are not willing to pay. It requires time, dedication, inconvenience and unpleasant conditions. Nevertheless, for those who are willing to endure the requirements, the outcome is well worth the hardship.

Although I do not personally engage in sports’ competition, I do discipline myself to take a brisk walk nearly every morning for the health benefits that it brings. I have found that to be consistent with that routine, I have to deal with a lot of excuses as to why I should skip the daily walk. I have been utilizing this form of exercise for more than 20 years, yet I still wrestle with excuses such as it’s too hot or too cold, I’m too tired, I have other things to do, or I simply don’t want to today. But I have found that there is a tremendous sense of accomplishment when I refuse to allow excuses to control my decision. Similarly, when we choose to consistently do the things needed to make our walk with God healthier and more productive, the result will be in an inner satisfaction that nothing else can provide.

For followers of Christ, paying the price of practice brings the benefits of being able to more readily hear and follow the voice of God, overcoming even the most powerfully enticing temptations, and remaining faithful to God no matter how unpopular it might be in our modern society. And as I Corinthians 9 reminds Christians, there will ultimately be an eternal prize received which Paul describes as “a crown that will last forever” (verse 25).