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Run in life like an Olympian

A psychology instructor finished his lecture on mental health. With a specific disorder in mind he asked his students, “How would you diagnose and what would you call a patient who walks back and forth screaming at the top of his lungs one minute, then sits in a chair weeping uncontrollably the next?”

A psychology instructor finished his lecture on mental health. With a specific disorder in mind he asked his students, “How would you diagnose and what would you call a patient who walks back and forth screaming at the top of his lungs one minute, then sits in a chair weeping uncontrollably the next?”

A student raised his hand and answered confidently, “The diagnosis is extreme agitation and I would call him the coach of a losing Olympic hockey team”.

Televisions, newspapers, radio waves and life in general have been filled with the excitement of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

But along with the excitement comes a myriad of challenges. To name a few, the death of the young Georgian luger, the 30-plus athletes failing drug tests and the general frustration, stress and high tension of wanting to win.

I’m personally impressed by the hard work, dedication, discipline and commitment that these athletes must have in order to participate at the Olympic level. I’ve watched several of the events as time permits and of course I’m cheering for Canada!

The Olympic Games began in Greece, nearly 800 years before Christ and lasted for more than a millennium. The games continued until the end of the fourth century when Emperor Theodosius labeled them as, “inappropriate for a Christian society” and abolished them.

Some believe the Apostle Paul attended the games and alluded to them in his metaphorical analogies of the Christian life

Others, appalled at this idea, strongly disagree, because both traditional Jewish and early Christian cultures viewed these games as pagan rites and human vanity. In my view, it’s unlikely he would have attended, but he almost certainly had these well known activities as points of reference in his teaching.

One such metaphor is found in 1 Corinthians 9:24, 25 where Paul writes, “You know that many runners enter a race, and only one of them wins the prize. So run to win! Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever.”

He commends the dedication of the athletes, but highlights the more permanent nature of the prize for running the Christian race.

Again, comparing the Christian life to a race, Paul says, “…I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing…I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize…because of what Christ Jesus did…” (Philippians 3:14, 15).

As we continue to enjoy the Olympics, I would like to ask you to ponder two questions. First, are you in the Christian race? And second, if you are, are you running to win?

— Pastor Ross Helgeton is senior pastor at Erskine Evangelical Free Church