| A Message "How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:103 -105 |
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Don't Bow Kevin Parker Three friends stood together at the "ribbon cutting" amongst hundreds if not thousands of others now with a big decision to make. When the music played, everyone was to bow down to the huge statue that resembled the egomaniac that had commissioned it. If they didn’t, they would lose their lives. Pretty cut & dried, right? They were in a large area and if they did bow to this statue, who would know? Just the three of them right? And everyone else would be doing it. When in Rome, right? Only these three would know of this compromise…and their God. But the knowledge that their God would know was too much for them. So in a field filled with people, when the music played they made a choice and were the only three still standing when everyone else played it safe and bowed. And for standing up for their beliefs, they were sentenced to death. Their last words before the death sentence was carried out? "…The God whom we serve is able to save us…But even if He doesn’t, your majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up." (And if you read the end of this story, the God they stood up for did rescue them-Daniel chapter 3). Today we have it a lot easier don’t we? No death sentences carried out for lack of bowing, huh? But let me ask you, don’t we bow in other ways? Lack of self-control at mealtimes, lack of discipline in working out and/or procrastination in caring for God’s temple? Have you noticed that your "flesh" will try to talk you into sleeping in on mornings you are to workout or talk you into dessert or cheat meals daily? It’s the flesh that tries to rationalize you’ve been good all day so go ahead, live a little on this last meal, you always have tomorrow to work it off! One day it dawned on me to ask, "Who’s in charge here? You (the flesh), or me? You (the flesh) work for me, don’t you? So why am I listening to you? I know the right thing to do here, so why don’t I do it? And I’m not talking about stumbling when you’re really trying (as I selfishly stand up and dust myself off from my last face-first digger where I hit so hard I skinned my nose!). We’re not perfect, we’re going to slip, stumble and make mistakes. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t really need a Savior; you could be your own god. But I assure you; there are no perfect people out there no matter how hard they try. The ones who make their goals and are successful are the ones who refuse to give in, stay down and give in to thinking, "why not give in-who am I really hurting? No one knows." And those who give in to their flesh often find that it extends into other areas of their life outside the gym (i.e. doing taxes, their driving, compromises at work, or even in honesty and/or relationships) or vice versa. I’m sure Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego (the 3 above) heard that little voice of compromise in their heads. But today I challenge you to put your "B-game" down and step up with your "A-game". Don’t bow (anymore) but bring your best so that you can live in clear conscious "…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). Your brother in Christ, Kevin Like this article? Kevin Parker is a regular contributer to the Edge. He also has a monthly newsletter on his yahoo group Drug-free Bodybuilding at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/drugfreebodybuilding. Sign up today to receive it and visit Kevin's site at http://home.hot.rr.com/kevinparkers |