Pentathlon Christians

Most Christians work hard at something they call ‘balance.’ They carefully prioritize life: God first, family second, church third, work fourth … and in so doing find themselves in an impossible snare of conflicting responsibilities or seriously deficient in one way or another. If we try to neatly divide our days or weeks into time exclusively given to God, or family, or work, someone or something will be neglected.

Doug Sherman suggests a different model. He says that “the Christian life is similar to the pentathlon. The pentathlon requires the athlete to be proficient in five areas: pistol shooting, epee fencing, horseback riding, swimming, and running. It involves a wide range of skills and knowledge and requires a thoughtful strategy for training. The athlete’s training time must be carefully divided among the events, although some events will take longer than others to train for. The goal is to do well in all areas to win the prize.” (Your Work Matters to God, Navpress, 1990)

Everything we do; yes, all that we are, must be submitted to Jesus Christ! In that sense there is a first line priority. The Scripture commands that “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Colossians 3:23, NIV) So, we cannot restrict our “God” to Sunday or times of personal meditation. He is Lord of our marriage, of our Facebook time, of our time at work, of our parenting. Similarly, we need to integrate all parts of our lives in a way that does not lead to conflict, but rather to wise choices of wholeness.

For example, what we do to create an income stream is important! It isn’t fourth or fifth in some imaginary ladder of priorities. Should we allow our occupation to define us? No, but neither should we think that what we do for the company has no relevance to our Christianity or our family life. God has called us to whole lives where His Presence is made known equally in worship, in work, and socially. If we misuse work as a means of finding fulfillment and personal worth, our family will suffer. If we make our family life the idol that we worship, we will be unproductive employees and probably not very useful to the Lord in ministry. If we push worship to the top of the ladder, our children will rightly conclude that we love our church more than we love them.

Becoming a Christian who knows the importance of working hard, relating well to friends, worshipping whole-heartedly, and loving family may sound exhausting, but with time and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, we can learn to live wholly. This honors the Lord! Sherman offers this for our thoughts. “Accept God’s sovereignty over your life and over the time at your disposal. There is just enough time in every day to do what He wants. This does not mean you will accomplish everything you want to accomplish. It does mean that when your head touches the pillow at night you can feel settled in your spirit that you worked hard to honor God with the time and the responsibilities He gave you.”

The Bible says “Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the LORD protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.” (Psalm 127:1–2, NLT) Will you let Him make you into a pentathlon Christian, proficient in multiple areas, diligent and disciplined?

"Work is not always required of a man. There is such a thing as sacred idleness, the cultivation of which is now fearfully neglected." —George MacDonald

________________

Make my life a prayer to You,
I want to do what You want me to.
No empty words, no white lies;
No token prayers, no compromise.
I want to shine the light You gave
Through Your Son You sent to save us,
From ourselves and our despair,
It comforts me to know You're really there.

Well, I want to thank You now for being patient with me.
Oh, it's so hard to see when my eyes are on me!
I guess I'll have to trust and just believe what You say,
Oh, You're coming again, coming to take me away!

I want to die and let You give
Your life to me that I might live
And share the hope You gave to me
The love that set me free.

- Keith Green