Practice makes permanent…Proper practice makes perfect

rongolf.gifI once read the above title to this blog and as I read it, I thought that is exactly right; whatever we practice is what becomes a permanent fixture in our lives.  Think about your golf swing.  Most of us probably taught ourselves to golf and did not seek out the expertise of a golf pro.  I know I taught myself, and guess what…I taught myself wrong.  Of course, going through years of practicing my “wrong” golf swing, it became permanent in my golf game.  When I decided to go for golf lessons to better my game, it became even more evident how bad my swing was.  As I tried to correct my swing, it was very awkward and very unnatural.  My brain and body were so conditioned to doing it the way I had taught myself for years; that there was a natural draw to want to go back to what was comfortable and felt right.  As long as I was taking lessons and kept myself connected to a golf pro, I was able to overcome the bad tendencies in my old swing and was able to start to model the new swing the pro was teaching me.

So, off I went out to the golf course to play a round with my brother and to put into practice my new found swing.  Slowly over time, my swing drifted right back to the same old swing I had before the lessons.  It was not an immediate shift back to the old swing, but it did slowly get there over the course of 18 holes.  Why?  Because the information the golf pro gave me went out the window and what I had practiced in those early years had become permanent. 

I think about my old life prior to having a relationship with Christ.  My old life is just like my golf swing, those destructive activities, attitudes, and poor behavior are what I had learned and they had become permanent and comfortable in my everyday life.   Just like seeking out a pro golfer to help my swing, I needed Jesus Christ to help me change the old behaviors in my life to a new way of living.  When I was with the golf pro, I was able to model the correct swing and behavior that he was teaching me, but as soon as I walked away from him, my golf swing behavior slowly drifted back to the old habits.  Just as I needed Jesus Christ to change and break the old tendencies in my daily behavior and thought process, I also need to stay connected with Him so I can model the correct behaviors that He wants me to model.  If I let myself drift away from Him, just like my golf game, my daily behaviors will slowly drift back to the same destructive behaviors I had before becoming a Christ follower. 

Please note, we can all make behavioral changes on our own, but usually only for a short period of time. A lasting sustainable change can only be accomplished though Jesus Christ. It is not a “what can I do”, it is a “what has God done” statement. The difference in this example between a golf instructor and God is, I was meant to have a RELATIONSHIP with God which means there is daily and constant interaction between Him and me, we stay connected. I was not meant to have a relationship with a golf instructor; I am there for a short period of time to get INFORMATION to improve my golf game, so unless I apply the information it is useless. Note I said “I” have to apply the information, where in the first statement I said “we” stay connected. Applying the information is something you do in your own strength, but having a relationship is something God does with us in His strength.

God wants to change you from the inside out, and He will meet you right where you are at. You may think you are not good enough or when you start acting better then God will take me. That is all false, God will meet you right where you are at today, He will take the good, the bad and the ugly and He will radically change your life today. See what Mathew chapter 9 says about Jesus coming to meet you where you are at.

Mathew 9:12-13 … On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Do you have a relationship with God or just information? Are you trying to live a better life on your own with information (usually religious information) or with God in a relationship? Is the practice in your life creating permanent behaviors that are honoring to God or disheartening to Him?

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September 8, 2008 · Filed Under Devotionals, Misc

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