Attitudes and Attributes of the Winning Athlete

UV 3258/10000 Attitudes and Attributes of the Winning Athlete
Now every athlete who goes into training and competes in the games is disciplined and exercises self control in all things. They do it to win a crown that withers, but we do it to receive an imperishable crown that cannot wither.

I Corinthians 9 v 25

The crown that Olympic athletes got in ancient Greece was made of olive leaves. It naturally withered in a few days. Yet the athlete who won it had put in several weeks, months or years of training, hard practice and self discipline to win it. He works indefatigably and does not grudge or complain of all the effort he put in just to win something as transient as a crown of leaves. The crowns or prizes we win in this world fade away but the eternal crown that we win as we follow Jesus never fades away. We need to be willing to put in more effort than the Olympic athlete who does everything needed for a few minutes of glory. St Paul showed that kind of self discipline in his life after he encountered God in Christ on the road to Damascus. He subjected his body to discipline. He trained his appetite. He exercised self control in all things. He said “No” to what he had to say , “No” and “Yes” to what the Holy Spirit would have him say, “Yes.”

St Paul dedicated himself to serving the One whom he formerly mistakenly and zealously persecuted- Jesus. He then diligently studied the scriptures to uncover for himself all that was written about the Messiah and satisfied himself that it had all been fulfilled in Jesus. He devoted himself to discussing these things with the faithful and to prayer with other believers. He was determined to become the apostle to the Gentiles even as Peter was apostle to the Jews. In order to do so effectively, He submitted himself to a daily discipline of prayer, studying the scriptures, controlling his desires and reactions to other people, sharpening his tools and communication skills.

St Paul exhorts every believer to have the dedication of a soldier, the fearlessness, the courage, the willingness to confront hardship and challenges head on, to take risks and be bold and brave for the Lord. We are to also have the discipline of the athlete to place ourselves in training in righteousness by studying and applying the precepts and principles learnt from scripture in all areas of our lives. We are to run to win gold, fight to be victorious over all the powers of this world. Gold for a spiritual athlete means love of God while world means love of Word. Like a boxer, we should be willing to take a few bloody blows to our faces but every time we fall, we should be determined enough to stand again. I often used to wonder why wisdom is not mentioned as one of the nine fruit of the Spirit but the Lord revealed that self control which is mentioned is nothing but spiritual wisdom. The Holy Spirit will enable us to exercise self control in all aspects of our lives- speech, temper, desires, habits, relationships.