Amateur or Professional Christian

I was recently reading a blog post by Jeff Goins in which he was describing the difference between an amateur and professional writer. I was struck by how that definition could easily be applied to anything--even Christianity and our personal walk with the Lord.

Now go back to your athletic days. Remember coach saying, actually yelling, "No pain, no gain!" And if you had a good coach, he did a lot of motivating; some would call their approach "head games," but a good coach psyched you into great fitness and form.  As adults some of us pay fitness coaches now because it works.

Companies also pay big bucks for professional motivators to come and and teach their employees to be nice and work hard. The issue is that we are either ignorant and just need enlightening and inspiration or it could be that we are lazy, and there's not much we can do about that. The Bible speaks about laziness and it's negative effect.

We all know that if it were easy to mold our bodies, then we would all be walking around muscular, fit, and trim. It's not easy and it really does take the mind and behavior change to get there. Beyond that, it takes time and commitment to finish the run. Paul used athletic metaphors often in his writing. He knew. We know how it is, right? Yep, we do.

You can certainly tell the difference between an amateur and professional body builder at first glance. What most would-be Adonis's don't realize is the amount of time, commitment and discipline it takes to get there. But once you get going, the endorphin rush and positive results keep the athlete motivated. Discipline is the key because on those days you don't feel like it, and your body is making it very clear it would rather not run those three miles, but your self-discipline is stronger and makes the body go.

You might not be able to see physically the differences in an amateur Christian and a professional Christian, but there are differences. Jeff lays out these differences in writers and they really do apply to Christians too:

3 Characteristics of Amateurs

• The amateur is jealous. He is always comparing himself to others.
• The amateur seeks instant gratification. She is unwilling to do the long, hard work without an immediate reward. What's more is the last thrill or latest accomplishment is never enough to satisfy.
• The amateur is easily distracted. He spends hours on Twitter or Facebook; he wastes days asking professionals out to lunch, trying to discover their "secrets."

Ouch!  Yep, I know I can do better.

We have to move from the level of jealousy, comparing, and competition to a place where we delight in sharing what we have gained to lift others up too. But, we have to have something to share first, and that comes by spending time with Father in His secret place.

When it doesn't work immediately, we can't give up. We just need to lock in with Him more often and for longer times. It does take hard work. No pain, no gain. It does take sacrifice; giving up temporal delights that distract for eternal delights that bring lasting change.

We can study other's approaches who have found success all day and all night, but we have to find it for ourselves. There is no other way around it.

I've seen the Lord lead people right to their Waterloo--right to the point of failure where He designs that they lose themselves and take up the new image He has for them, but instead, they avoid the pain of facing themselves. They back up and tread around that mountain again until the next time the Lord brings them to that pivotal point where change is required to go on. These are cyclic lives that fail to progress--they go as far as they are willing to allow themselves. Most of it is fear of leaving something familiar, even if it's dysfunctional. For some people there is comfort in dysfunction and there's a lack of faith to step into the next cycle. Paul says this process of advancing in the things of God is going from glory to glory.

Wouldn't it be great if we had a personal life coach who would follow us around constantly challenging us? I know I would do better with that. But, if I give, and I mean truly give, my body and my life a living sacrifice to Him, then I'm not "mine own." I belong to Him. I have to realize that I've been bought with a price and I should seek to honor Him from glory to glory.

Jesus left a life coach for us in the Holy Spirit who always lives with us. First we have to learn His voice and then we have to follow what He tells us.  There is no way around it.  All those infomercial gadgets promise easy and quick weight loss.  You know those don't work, right?

The path to becoming a professional, mature, Christian is challenging but very possible. No pain, no gain, but you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.