Practice Makes Perfect
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. - Hebrews 5:14
When I was a kid I loved going to Karate class. My brother and mom were in it also, so it was kind of a thing we did together. Side note: my mom is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do so it would do you well to not make her mad. Trust me. :) But I will always remember one of the signs on the wall in the gym. It said "Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." What a profound statement.
The point is, you can practice all you want, but unless you take it seriously your practice is just going through motions. I think that applies to pretty much every aspect of life. It applies to athletes. If they sloppily and apathetically practice, their bodies and instincts won't be ready for game time. See what practice does, is gets your body and mind ready to do the right thing without even thinking about it. The analogy I always use is the batting cages. You go to the batting cages to work on your swing. Balance, footwork, timing, leg kick, new bat position, etc. but when you get put on that field, you have to just trust the work you put in and trust your body to do the right thing, instinctually.
Our faith is no different. This verse says that we need to practice to distinguish good from evil. Well, how do we do that? If you're reading this, it's a good start. You dig in. Read God's Word. Bottom line, it's the truth, and anything else you do is suspect. Other disciplines are important, too. Praying, fellowship, listening at church, etc. all of these are ways that you train your heart and mind to recognize good and to recognize evil so you can make good decisions and point people to Good News.
Life WILL throw you curve balls. If all you have to combat them is your biblically untrained feelings, emotions, or instincts. But if you have been training and practicing, your feelings, emotions, and instincts actually change and become more like Christ. So whatever life throws at you, your ability to react in a Christ-like manner is far more likely. But you have to practice. Better yet, you have to actually care when you practice. It's not just going through motions, but practicing like you're actually training for something. Perfect Practice Makes Perfect.
Challenge: Start practicing now. Pray right now that God would give you a heart that desires His will. Pray that he would illuminate the scriptures to you when you open His Word. Pray that you would have a little bit of time today to dig in. And then do those things.
Love you, church.
- Charlie
When I was a kid I loved going to Karate class. My brother and mom were in it also, so it was kind of a thing we did together. Side note: my mom is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do so it would do you well to not make her mad. Trust me. :) But I will always remember one of the signs on the wall in the gym. It said "Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." What a profound statement.
The point is, you can practice all you want, but unless you take it seriously your practice is just going through motions. I think that applies to pretty much every aspect of life. It applies to athletes. If they sloppily and apathetically practice, their bodies and instincts won't be ready for game time. See what practice does, is gets your body and mind ready to do the right thing without even thinking about it. The analogy I always use is the batting cages. You go to the batting cages to work on your swing. Balance, footwork, timing, leg kick, new bat position, etc. but when you get put on that field, you have to just trust the work you put in and trust your body to do the right thing, instinctually.
Our faith is no different. This verse says that we need to practice to distinguish good from evil. Well, how do we do that? If you're reading this, it's a good start. You dig in. Read God's Word. Bottom line, it's the truth, and anything else you do is suspect. Other disciplines are important, too. Praying, fellowship, listening at church, etc. all of these are ways that you train your heart and mind to recognize good and to recognize evil so you can make good decisions and point people to Good News.
Life WILL throw you curve balls. If all you have to combat them is your biblically untrained feelings, emotions, or instincts. But if you have been training and practicing, your feelings, emotions, and instincts actually change and become more like Christ. So whatever life throws at you, your ability to react in a Christ-like manner is far more likely. But you have to practice. Better yet, you have to actually care when you practice. It's not just going through motions, but practicing like you're actually training for something. Perfect Practice Makes Perfect.
Challenge: Start practicing now. Pray right now that God would give you a heart that desires His will. Pray that he would illuminate the scriptures to you when you open His Word. Pray that you would have a little bit of time today to dig in. And then do those things.
Love you, church.
- Charlie
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