The Olympic Myth
The 2012 summer olympics are coming to an end this Sunday. I’ve been following the olympics and it has been really exciting. The opening ceremonies were absolutely spectacular! The idea of the world sort of coming together for two weeks is inspiring. The positive spin in the media has been uplifting. Watching athletes accomplish nearly super human goals is motivating.
Take Michael Phelps for instance. He is a young man who has accomplished more than most of us will ever do! He is now the super olympian, with being awarded the most olympic medals (22) in the history of the games. And he’s only 26 years old!
As the summer olympics come to a close, I have been reflecting on what I call the olympic myth. Let me explain.
Some of the keys to success for olympians is hard work, determination and persistence. They set goals and create daily habits that move them towards their destination. Eventually those habits, combined with a good attitude bring them victory. Yes, not everyone gets an olympic medal. But the super stars do. The likes of Michael Phelps do!
Now, these characteristics are good. In fact, God applauds persistence, self-determination and working hard. The danger is when we carry this attitude over into our spiritual lives.
The problem is that many of us try too hard when it comes to following Jesus. We try hard to avoid sin, maybe even setting specific goals in this area. We are determined to get closer to God. We persistently read the Bible and pray without those practices having much of an impact in how we act. We hear a message and are determined that change will happen if we make the right choices.
The problem with this approach is that it doesn’t work long-term. We end up frustrated and confused. The bigger problem comes when we push this approach on those that we lead. We tell them to try harder and be stronger when following Jesus. As a result, they end up frustrated and confused as well. Some even quit following Jesus. We weren’t designed by God to try harder.
We were designed to rely on Jesus more often, not try harder. When we rely on Him, good fruit comes out of us. When God is the center of our lives, good things happen. Compassion, forgiveness, love, self-control, peace and happiness abound. The key to following Jesus isn’t trying, but relying. We ask God to show up when life gets hard and rely on Him to make our back to school event a success. We remember that He is the source of everything good in our lives. So, stop trying and start relying on Him!
Something beautiful happens when we teach this to our leaders and students. They become less frustrated and more in sync with God. We have to keep this concept in front of them often, because our default mode is, “try harder”. So, communicate it regularly and lead by example.
2 Replies to “The Olympic Myth”
George Nielsen
Your point is valid, regarding relying on extra effort as THE way to achieve ministry or spiritual life goals. It is not the way. Receiving guidance and strength from Jesus is the answer, along with your own effort and persistence. We want to teach our preteens to connect to Jesus as their Source. One of my fellow ministers has a saying “Look to the Source for your resources.” This lines up with our Theme and prayer emphasis for this year “Fix your Eyes on Jesus.”
You should note that the article doesn’t give enough credit to the importance of putting in your own effort to persist with spiritual disciplines. There is a balance — between legitimate personal effort and reliance on supernatural help from the Lord. We want to teach the kids to build their devotion to Jesus and stay connected spiritually to the Lord, to be faithful young disciples of Jesus. To Be a faithful, and growing, young disciple of Jesus, it is still important to Do spiritual disciplines that strengthen that devotion. “BE”-ing comes first, but there is also a place for emphasizing “Do”-ing, for the young disciple of Jesus.
For the 5th graders I teach, Being a Young Disciple of Jesus is the primary goal for this year. But I don’t feel I can neglect their development of spiritual disciplines, and I feel the kids need to put in a lot more of their own effort too. – George Nielsen
ndiliberto
Hi George, thanks for commenting. Yes, I agree, there is a partnership in the growth process. You make the effort to connect with God, and He forms and shapes you to become like Christ. The reason I emphasized the “God” part of the partnership in this post is because it typically isn’t stressed enough. We seem to get the “us” part, but often miss the “God” part of the equation. And when we do, it becomes more about us rather than God. As a result, we try hard rather than relying on God. But you are right, we need to put God the center of our lives so that He works in and through us. Thanks again for the comment!
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