“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. ” – 1 Corinthians 9:24 (NIV)
Laziness is a dangerous trap to fall into. We have all experienced it. There are days when we simply don’t want to do anything. Even if we know that it would be in our best interest to act now and do what we need to do immediately, we procrastinate anyway. In an effort to justify our sloth, we say to ourselves, “We have time” or “We are ahead of schedule so we can relax a bit”. But laziness is a thief which steals our energy and time. In a blink of an eye, our allowance of indolence leaves us in a quandary that we find extremely difficult to reverse.
It can be same with the Christian life as well. When we become lazy in our walk with God, we end up depriving ourselves of victory in our lives. When we whine and complain about our relationship with God being mundane and routine with Him not doing much, why don’t we look at ourselves? Christ cannot do His redemptive work when our hearts are not willing to be molded by Him. A living relationship with Christ, like any other healthy relationship, is never one way. We must be as willing to maintain our relationship with Him and spend time in His presence much as He is willing to do so with us. In addition, when we are lazy, we miss out on opportunities to be positive witnesses for Christ. How often do we hesitate when it comes to sharing our faith with others? We think that we have all the time in the world to share Christ with others. But the truth is that because we have told ourselves this, we never get around to actually witnessing to others. Eventually, what ends up happening is that before we find the courage and diligence to share the wonderful message of Jesus, it is already too late for our intended friend to hear it. Paul was accurate in comparing the life for the Christian with a race. A good athlete trains for the event and never gives in to sloth, whether it is in his training or during the main event itself. He is focused on the prize and runs to win it. Likewise we must actively pursue excellence in everything we do; remembering full well that we are representatives of Christ and that our actions reflect Him and His character.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
