Treading in the path of extremism

‘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? 

Ryan Hall

Eric Liddell

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.