Downtown Mitchell First UMC
310 North Rowley, Mitchell, SD 57301
Rev. Keith Nelson, Pastor
keith@downtownfirstumc.com
So, here we are at the beginning of another Summer Olympic Games. Of course, the Olympic Games is the gathering of athletes from all around the world, every four years, in which they compete for the prized gold medal in that particular sport. There are such events as track and field, cycling, gymnastics, swimming, fencing, wrestling, basketball, volleyball, and many others. This year they’ve even added a few new sports, such as breakdancing, surfing, skateboarding, and a few others.
What these events all have in common is that the athletes compete to outdo one another. The desire is to come out on top, to show how one is the best, or simply to take home the gold. Of course, they realize they can’t all take home the gold, but that would be the secret dream of each athlete, to some way, somehow outdo the other competitors and take home the gold.
I remember what it was like to compete. When I was in high school and competing in track, there was the rush of the games, the hopefulness of winning, the thrill of competing against other athletes. At White Lake we had some good teams in those years. We set records and won our share of gold medals. Yet, there were other times that I simply had to marvel at the gifts and abilities of other competitors as they broke records and took home the gold. It did challenge me at times to train harder and to consider what I needed to do to up my game, so to speak. May we all be praying for a safe, friendly, and uniting Olympic Games.
Unfortunately, this idea of “outdoing one another” isn’t just confined to the area of sports and such contests. Sometimes we see it in the work environment and it is certainly apparent in politics these days. We see it in the realm of social media and people seeking to outdo others in the number of likes or the outrageous stunts they can post. We see it in the various forms of news media in our day. There is just something about the competitive spirit within us.
But how about in our faith? How about in living out being a follower of Jesus? The Apostle Paul does give us some direction in this. The sporting games were big in Paul’s day. In several of his letters he uses imagery from the sports world; running the race, buffeting or training his body, etc.
In fact, I wonder if “The Games” were underway or coming up when Paul wrote something in his letter to the church at Rome – the New Testament book we call Romans. In Romans 12:10 Paul writes, “…love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.” Paul is writing about the true marks of living out the Christian Faith. This complete section is Romans 12:9-21. Take a moment to look that up and read it. Paul packs a lot into those few verses. But some of what he says is; “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Bless those who persecute you, rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with others, don’t be arrogant, live peaceably with all, don’t repay evil for evil, etc. This is the list that we are supposed to outdo one another in.
What if the political candidates running for office this year strove to outdo the other in showing honor to the other? How would it change our society if we truly turned away from evil and held fast to what is good? What if we all let go of arrogance and took on a spirit of humbleness? What if we chose to feed and care for our enemies instead of plotting our revenge? I know, I know, I can hear people saying, “But that isn’t how our world works!” But I think Paul, and even Jesus would reply, “But what if it did?”
So where does this all begin? It begins in each of our lives and figuring out how best we can “outdo” others in living out God’s Kingdom Values in our lives and in our world today. The athletes at the Olympic Games would say it took years of training and dedication to become the competitors they are today. In our faith journey, we too can say it takes years of training and dedication to become the Jesus followers that live into Paul’s words. But it all begins with that simple decision to go for the gold. May we all be in training for the gold, the prize that Paul speaks of…living into and living out the Kingdom of God!
Pastor Keith