Advent, Week 1: Training Days

Today’s readings: Ps 122, 145; Amos 2:6-16; 2 Pet 1:1-11; Matt 21:1-11

Musicians. Athletes. Surgeons. Anyone truly dedicated to a craft, skill or study knows the process of growth and improvement never ends. Reaching the next level of performance requires dedication and practice. Each new level reveals previously unimagined possibilities. But every level contains echoes of the ones before it. When the quest for improvement seems stalled, performers often find revisiting the basics unlocks a breakthrough. Some early disciples were ineffective and unproductive - coasting on salvation and “forgetting they had been cleansed” (2 Pet 1:8-9). Effective disciples – like high-level performers – are humble enough to re-visit their roots and keep up the basics. Peter reminded his readers that goodness, knowledge, self-control and other Godly traits are not one-time achievements, but more like muscles in need of constant training.

The world certainly does not teach us excellence should result in increased humility, but then the world’s standards for success are not God’s standards. Christ was humble until death – the ultimate failure by worldly standards. So training our spiritual muscles may sting a little when the world judges us. Sometimes we have to sacrifice things like material goods and popularity in order to pack on the spiritual muscle. We may be uncomfortable defying the common perception of success. In the end we are stronger for it, and we learn that these pains are temporary and negligible in light of the rewards of the next plateau.

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell suggests outstanding excellence in a skill requires 10,000 dedicated hours of practice. Subjecting yourself to the same thing for 10,000 hours? That requires both humility and a high tolerance for repetition (including failures). How many of us can say we’ve dedicated the equivalent of five years at a full time job to honing our spiritual lives? Even at a rate of a solid hour a day, we’re talking more than 27 years.

The good news is we don’t need a special hour of prayer or meditation (though they can only help); with a little effort and intent we can incorporate our spiritual practice into most (if not all) of our waking hours. It’s no accident that Amos accuses Israel of selling the innocent for silver (Amos 2:6) and that we know the same will happen to Christ. The cyclical nature of creation permeates everything, including our spiritual practices. Refraining from gossip today makes it easier to refrain from slander tomorrow. As abuse follows a cycle, so does virtue. Be open to practicing perseverance, godliness and love in even the smallest situations today, and you’ll be a muscularly spiritual genius when the world needs it!

Comfort: It’s never too late to build your Christian muscles.

Challenge: Start tracking your spiritual progress like a training program.

Prayer: God of Hope, strengthen me.

Evening reading: Ps 40, 67