‘The purpose of a man’s heart is like deep
water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.’ Proverbs 20:5
'A man’s steps are from the Lord; how then
can man understand his way?' Proverbs 20:24
The following post is not meant for runners
and it’s mainly a sharing of what i am going through spiritually. It may confound Christians and make it
seem like I am straying away from God but trust me, this is not the case.
Lately I have been doing a lot of thinking
during my run. Is the way I train healthy? Is there a place for competitive
running for Christians? Or am I merely striving after wind or chasing my own
goals apart from what Christ has for me?
Have I been too extreme in my pursuit of my own hobby? There are no easy
answers to these. As there are always two sides to a coin, I can also argue in
two different ways. But that’s not really what I am getting at. I think what I am really asking is: Is
God pleased with me and what I am doing?
I think about the hours that I put into
running and the amount of discipline and sacrifice required. They are massive. What would God say
about them all? If I were to speak liberal, high-achieving modern day Christians,
they would probably assure me it’s fine to pursue my own dream, that God gave
me this talent for it to be nurtured, that I should do my best to glorify Him
(these are the same group of Christians that you see in Australian idol or the
X-factor). If I speak to the opposite camp – the conservative, dogmatic group
of evangelical Christians, many would undoubtedly comment on how pointless it
is to do what I am doing and how my time could have been better spent in
reading the bible, praying, being involved in ministry and God’s work (as if
running and ministering to fellow runners is not a form of God’s work). In
their minds, running, like many other worldly passions, is to be avoided if one
is to be serious about his discipleship in Christ.
If the latter were right, how then would
the world know about godly characters such as Eric Liddel (400m Olympic Gold
medallist in 1924) and Ryan Hall (current American marathon record-holder), who
spent countless hours training in the track and on the road and who, in my
knowledge, are both furiously in love with God and His Kingdom’s purpose? How else
would the world ever witness the intelligent, genius works of Galileo, Pascal,
Newton, Faraday, Paul Brand who also spent numerous hours in their own field of work,
studying, experimenting, observing, deducing etc.? Are they guilty of serving
two masters – Christ and science, or sport, or medicine?
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| Ryan Hall |
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| Eric Liddell |
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| Paul Brand (a missionary doctor who, despite multiple invitations to lead orthopaedic departments or research centres of some of the world's renowned hospitals, decided to spend a third of his career in India working with patients with leprosy) |
If ‘Seek ye first the Kindgom of God and
His righteousness’ is strictly interpreted as reading the bible and Christian
literature only and doing God’s work in the most traditional sense (i.e serving
one another in church, or evangelising to strangers on the street), then many
other sincere Christians would be discounted in their service to Christ in
their workplace. It is true that if you have interest elsewhere, you may not
have as much time reading His Word as compared to say, a person who is a
full-time bible college student (a person can only do that much). I will also admit
that because of the time I spend in work, studying and running, I don’t have as
much time in reading the bible as I would like. But, that doesn’t mean I don’t
love God as much, or these things (medicine and running) are more important
than God.
Somehow, it seems like our interpretation
of the type of godly activity/work is very much limited to our narrow
worldview. If we don’t like music or charismatic worship, we question why other
churches are having worship like that of a rock concert with so much noise and
lighting. If we don’t appreciate art, we would undermine the Catholic’s
emphasis on expression of art in their church architecture. The truth is, God
gives each of us a special element of Himself for us to bring it to full
expression. Be it art, science, sport, music, they are all special and should
be redeemed for His purpose.
If only you could sneak a peak into the
lives of these successful, outstanding folks, to see how they think, to
understand what makes them so different from you, and to see that through all
of it, they are still very much in love with God. They all work extremely hard, sometimes to the point of obsession (or else how can they be top leaders of their field?), but always guided by biblical principles, as they try their best to balance time between
work and spending devoted time with God, though very imperfectly. They are
nurturing the gift that God has given them in the most spectacular way, so that
the world may see and be amazed by the extraordinariness of God’s people.
The thing is, if you are only average at
your work (I am not saying this in an arrogant or derogatory sense but as
matter-of-factly), it will be hard for you to appreciate the heart behind these
geniuses. After all, you probably think that it’s good enough for you to be
able to recite bible verses and discuss some abstract topics like God’s
omnipotence and omniscience, or the subject of free will or salvation on a
table with other theologians. Or to end or begin all your conversation with
‘praise God’, ‘thank God’, ‘God will look after you’. Or to cling around
Christians only in your holy huddle-muddle and be proud of your Christian
accomplishment or service.
Spiritual maturity is not measured in
theological scholarlistic achievement, though meditating God’s Word does play a
huge role in keeping you in line with God’s purpose and statutes. It’s the way
you live your life, the motivation behind the things that you do, the purpose
which you wake up for, how deeply you’d loved, how bravely you’d fought, that
you will be judged for when Christ comes again.
Coming back to why I wrote this post… To be very honest, i am not 100% sure if God is pleased with what i am doing. I don't want to be presumptive over this issue and think that my pursuit of this hobby can somehow be 'justified' because i make it sound like it is for God's glory. I fully understand that the heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9), and often times i can't even discern my own motives. There are only three things i can be sure. 1) I love running, 2) I want to do well in it, and 3) I want to do it God's ways and with His strength and wisdom. The challenge then, is for me to remain God-centred and constantly be abiding in Him.
I
know I don’t have a lot of time left in competitive running. Competitive
running is taking a lot of hours from my life such that I won’t be able to
sustain for a long time (During peak season, I train on average 8-10 hours a
week). Next year will probably be my last. Raymun and I still have the massive
project of running across Malaysia at the end of next year, which at this point
I am not sure if it will come to past. If we are doing the project for
self-centred reasons - to fulfil our desire and love for running, then we might
as well forget it. We can run in our backyard for this. The only reason big
enough for us to pour in our time and effort in planning the entire project is
if we could use it to invest into the lives of our fellow countrymen, in
helping them understand more about their health.
My wife and I will have kids one day. When
that day comes, I want to focus my time on being a father to them. When Rachel
is cooking, instead heading out for a run, I want to sit with them to look
after them and sing songs with them. When they are old enough, I want to bring
them out for camping and hiking, and to show them a glimpse of God’s glorious
creations, to tell them beautiful bible stories and make it real and applicable
to them. If they are keen to pick up running, then perhaps we have some common
ground to work on!
Dear Father, bring me to my knees. Bring me back to You when i have strayed away. Hide me in Your love. Preserve me in the midst of trials and temptations. I want to run in the path of Your command, for you have set me free. In Jesus' name, Amen.
