Five Things Athletes Know that Christians Don’t

By Glen Copple

Athletes are different. Exercise, strenuous exercise is a driving passion in their lives. They love it. There are certain things that “they get.”
Apostle Paul’s encouragement in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 (ESV)
"24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

Many of those things Christians don’t get. Here are five things athletes know and Christians don’t:
1. The PAIN / GAIN Connection
Athletes understand that without a certain amount of pain and discomfort, they simply will not make progress toward higher athletic achievement. There is pain behind that victory.

Athletes know that going to the gym is nothing unless you are willing to put in the time and effort to grow beyond your current capabilities. Christians don’t seem to understand that hanging around the church or carrying a Bible makes no difference in their lives.

There is no gain without pain. That is true physically and it is also true spiritually. Growth in Christ is not automatic, and is more than desire. It takes real investment and intention to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18).

2. The KNOWLEDGE / PROGRESS Connection
The best athletes are always working at growing in their knowledge of both their sport and how their body works and responds best. They know that optimal performance follows better knowledge of both.

Christians don’t seem to understand that to really grow in Christ, they are going to have to do more than just read their Bible. They need to study them. They need to apply it to their lives if they hope to make progress in grace.

3. The WORK vs. REST Connection
Elite athletes work hard, very hard. But they also know that their bodies need rest and recuperation time.

Christians, spiritually speaking, have got their lives almost completely backwards. They are almost always at rest and never at work, spiritually speaking. They aren’t engaged in seeking the lost. Church attendance for example is now counted as regular if people are in fellowship with other believers 20-25 times a year. Bible reading is a Sunday affair and maybe a verse or two a day rather the daily bread we need to nourish our lives. Personal evangelism is myth.

4. The PROGRESS is SLOW Connection
Athletes understand that progress is often slow and reward comes over time. You don’t just get up and run a marathon; you have to train for it.

Christians, like so many others in our culture, want instant gratification. “Pastor, can you give me a verse to deal with my anger?” Spiritual growth doesn’t come from a pill that you take but a path that you follow. And progress is often slow and imperceptible. But there is reward over time.

5. The CONSISTENCY / REGRESSION Connection
Athletes understand that to maintain peak conditioning they can’t stop. Workouts may change and vary. Some will be more or less strenuous. But just because heavy prices of pain and uncomfortable, sore muscles are now in the past does not mean that exercise can cease.

Christians don’t seem to get that. So you studied the Bible hard for a few weeks a couple of years ago. Does that mean you don’t need to study it now? No.

In fact, 1) staying consistently in the word of God, 2) connected in fellowship with other believers, 3) gathered in corporate worship, 4) praying for and serving the body of Christ and your neighbor are the tools that are indispensable to your Christian life and all of them must be consistently applied (Cf. Acts 2:42-47)

Let’s be more like athletes in our pursuit of Christ.
Let’s live passionately for and like Christ so we can truly love God, love others and serve the world.

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