What happens when you neglect one thing and focus on another? You get really good at what you focused on and worse at what you neglected. If you knew me, you’d know that I always say “repetition is a great thing.” I don’t always “get” a lesson the first time, but I’ve got this one finally!
Lately I’ve been rock climbing more. So I’d get better, I’ve been doing a lot of strength training. Since my strength has improved, I’m climbing advanced routes! But here is the problem I’ve run into; I have neglected my footwork. When I started climbing I saw I needed to work on it, but instead I thought I’d just get stronger and not worry about it. So now that I’ve gotten stronger, my footwork is still awful! It’s not that it’s just bad, but it affects my climbing and makes me fall off the boulder! My neglect has turned back on me and now hurts my skill.
The Bible tells us that though there are many parts to it, there is just one body (1 Corinthians 12:12-19). What I didn’t understand is that if my footwork was weak, my entire body is weak, no matter how strong I get the rest of my body.
In that same way, I have neglected parts of my journey with Christ. I get really caught up in political issues. Many times I focus more on current events in the world than what Christ is doing. If I balanced the two, then I could approach each issue and worldly happening with a stronger Christ view! That same idea of balance with Christ can be applied to everything in my life! School, music, reading, movies, EVERYTHING! If I read a worldly book, I should be sure to read even more of God’s Word. By including Christ in everything I do, I will never be apart from Him. The worst place to be is apart from God; so by always being with Him, I’m in the best place to be. That sounds perfect to me!
“Father, thank you for balancing my life! You have made me whole, and I thank you for revealing to me the full meaning of that. Please help me to include you into every aspect of my life so that I may never be apart from you.”
Jody Johnston is a student at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. With a fire in his heart that only God could’ve ignited, he is a servant and prayer warrior. He calls New Orleans, LA his home. You can contact him on facebook www.facebook.com/jodygjohnston.