Disqualification is a sad concept. It means that you didn’t stay inside the parameters given to you, whether by mistake or on purpose. I think what makes it so bad is you are trying to succeed, to win. You practice, train, and work hard to achieve a goal and then you lose on what feels like a simple “technicality.” The thing is though, the “technicality” is the rule you were to be following. We just downplay it because it seems like we should at least get credit for everything else.
As sad or frustrating as it may be, we learn something from that type of failure. It doesn’t matter how hard you work or how much effort and time you put into something. If you don’t do it right, you might as well have not done it at all. It’s just wasted time and effort. Sure, you can look awesome training. You can appear to be getting a head and developing something great. You can receive praise, adoration, and even encouragement from others for it. That doesn’t make it right or correct by the standards set.
Paul said, “lest, when I have preached to others, I should become disqualified.”
(1 Corinthians 9:27). Paul didn’t want to live a disqualified life.
He disciplined himself, ran, fought, and lived to the best of his ability a qualified life in the eyes of God. He also sought it to be of the utmost importance to live the same way in the eyes of men. Why? Because to live a disqualified life as a Christian is to live as the world does. It’s to live in a way that is not according to the standards set, God’s Word. This doesn't just mean indulging in blatant fruits of the flesh. It also means appearing and participating in a religious way toward God or waxing eloquently on inaccurate theological concepts that are not according to His Word.
How can you preach and teach with any effect about repentance and a better life living that way? We are to live the same life as Christ. We are to have the same attitude as Paul. God calls us light, the salt of the earth, and a city on a hill. Our lives draw others to God or should. We are to live in such a way that our actions and deeds cause others to praise God. A disqualified life means we are not qualified for Heaven. What does that mean for those who follow our example? I don’t want that. Do you? What are you doing to live qualified before God?
-Steve Johnson
Comments