Teach, Scold, Correct, Train

Shim's so vain, he probably thinks this blog is about him.

Sorry Shim, it's not about you. Though you do all of these quite well -- especially the scolding/rebuking part -- this post's not necessarily about you. But pay attention, I believe you could still learn something, and there may be a quiz on Monday.

The title of this post comes from Paul's second letter to Timothy:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness
--2nd Timothy 3:16

I like Paul. He must have been an athlete. A runner, even. There are numerous examples where Paul compares living a holy life to that of running a race. The discipline of being holy is not unlike the training it requires to finish the race strongly.

At bible study last night, we were reading 2 Timothy. In our group discussion, someone mentioned that in order to be ready for the trials of life, one should strive to balance the four ingredients: teach, rebuke, correct and train. For example, one cannot simply teach without having first trained, nor rebuke without encouraging proper correction.

During the discussion, my poorly disciplined mind started thinking about triathlons. In triathlons, one needs to be balanced in their preparation for a race. It doesn't come easy. In fact, I've never met a triathlete who loves all three disciplines of swimming, biking and running. More often, the triathlete excels at one skill and has to really work on the other two. Training requires sticky determination to remain committed to the plan when you'd rather ride on a run day. But if you're not committed, you'll become imbalanced and pay the price. Imbalance leads to poor racing performance, and quite possibly overuse injuries.

Don't let perfection become the enemy of good.
Being balanced will never create perfection. At the pool, I'm not the fastest swimmer. I get dropped all the time on the bike. Gerald Kubiak's presence regularly reminds me that I'm not the fastest runner. But when the race comes, I only need to be among the fastest to compete. I managed to win a triathlon once. I was sixth out of the water, third fastest on the bike and the second fastest runner. But overall, I was the most balanced triathlete that day. In fact, I won the race by over a minute.

Triathlons neatly illustrate the importance of being in balance. But much of the same could be said about how one trains as a cyclist. To be successful, a cyclist needs to train towards different skills, ie: strength/power, handling, endurance, hill climbing, sprinting.

The same could be said about running.

Or about work.

Or about our relationships with family, spouse, children.

Or about our relationship with God. It's a holy week. My Jewish friends are in the midst of celebrating passover. Today is Good Friday and Easter is on Sunday. To this, I've been thinking about how I can become more balanced in my relationship with God. Lord knows, I'm no saint and could use a training plan refresher.

Teach, Rebuke, Correct, Train. All Scripture is God-breathed and useful.

I encourage you to spend some time reviewing your personal training plan. Where can you become more balanced in your life?

Thanks for reading. Happy Easter everyone.