False Start

A man who enters an athletic contest wins no prize

unless he keeps the rules laid down.

2^nd Timothy 2:5

Every contest has rules, which are made plain from the very beginning.  If you choose to ignore those rules and do your own thing, there will be a price to pay.  I was reminded of this while watching one of the heats for the men’s 100 meter race at the Olympics.  Everyone lines up at the starting line, listens for the official to yell “Set!” then waits for the sound of the starting gun.  If someone starts out before the gun, that is called a false start.

In this particular race, one of the men made the decision to cheat – to try and beat the rest of the field by starting before the gun.  A false start was called, and everyone waited while the officials reviewed the video.  It was clear - to the officials and the TV audience, that the man had started well before the gun, and he was disqualified from the heat, and therefore from the race.  He lost all opportunity to run – simply because he made the decision to follow his own rules.

As Christians running in the race of life, we also have rules.  There are two of them: Love God with everything you are, and love your neighbor the same way you love yourself.