we must get rid of every weight
and the sin that clings so closely,
and run with endurance the race set out for us,
When I was young my parents sent us for swimming lessons every summer. We would go down to the Kennewick public pool and, for an hour, we would learn to swim. The lessons usually lasted for 2 weeks every summer, but mom and dad sometimes allowed my to take back to back lessons. I quickly progressed and by age 15 I had my life-saving certificate. In life-saving class one of the things we learned is that if you fall into the water you need to get your clothes OFF. Water soaked clothes will sap your energy and drag you under. Like Houdini bound tightly in a straight-jacket, we had to learn how to quickly disrobe once in the water. It was life or death.
Likewise, the runners in a Marathon wear only the barest minimum of clothes and the lightest running shoes imaginable. They get rid of every weight. My question then is simple "What is weighing me down?" "What is weighing you down?" Things that weigh us down are not necessarily sin (though they can be). The author of Hebrews mentions weight and then later "sin that clings closely to us". What keeps me from running well? Here are a few things on my list:
- too busy to read and meditate on the Bible
- entertainment: online or on TV
- email, most of it unimportant
- phone messages (the notification tone sounds urgent, but the message is inane like "lol" or "omg". I lose my focus for that?
- worry
What's on your list?
The strategy for dealing with things that weigh us down is "get rid of them". Lay them aside. Put them down. Leave them behind. STOP! What suggestions do you have? What are you going to "get rid of" so that you can run well? How will you do that?
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