1 Corinthians 9:26
I was reading one day and noticed Paul said, “Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air” in his letter to the Corinthian church. He goes on to talk about self-discipline in the words that follow. But that phrase “beats the air,” meaning frivolous, pointless action with no purpose, hung in my mind. It began to captivate my thoughts for some time. “What does he mean by that statement?” I thought to myself. Then it dawned on me. We can do things that are pointless to our faith and the cause of Christ. We can even do things that God asks us to do and make them meaningless. Yet, all the while,
seeming very religious.
I once overheard a conversation during a lunch meeting. Several men had found a cozy quaint spot to eat lunch and talk about God. What drew my ear to their conversation was the word “Ephesians.” I was ready to hear some great theological thoughts and discussions. However, as their lunch and discussion grew to an end it became clear that was not going to take place. They left feeling very full and bold in what they had done. I, however, was filled with sadness. For all that was spoken was empty religious jargon. It was repeated often. In fact, there was no clear gain, conclusion, or thing to be learned from what was said. They did look very religious and even full of faith.
With that in mind, a Pandora's box of theological thoughts came over me with the implications of
what Paul said. That realization is, in short, that if we don’t have the right heart or goal in what we are doing, then it's pointless. It is like getting into a fight and only hitting air. This can apply to everything from worship to our personal prayer life. I mean, you're making the motion and with zealous, fervent passion but with no actual intent of any accomplishments. It looks great until you realize that you have not landed a punch. To everyone else watching, it makes you look like a joke. Make sure you're landing those spiritual punches. That is a lot of wasted effort, if you don’t.
-Steve Johnson
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