The connection of social media in our life can be a decent temperature gage for a lot of different things. Although we don’t get consistent connection with people, it can at least be a window into their life. It might be a window to what people wish they had, were better at or mad at, but it can also display what people are good at or once were good at.

Just the other day I post a time hop picture of two of my college track buddies handing off a relay baton during a mile relay race. Just to poke at our age and how far we’ve fallen in our abilities, I tagged them and said, “Look at those two, now old men, looking like they stretched daily.” We then had some fun comments back and forth, but the reality was our abilities truly were the result of what we did on a daily basis. Pushing the limits of our lung capacity, pushing through soreness to build more muscle strength and endurance, all so we could perform at top speeds at the weekend track meets.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 and in several other letters from Paul, he illustrates the effort that we should be putting towards our faith. Like an athlete who would be competing Olympic games, we need to elevate our focus from just practicing a skill to being more cautious of what we put in our bodies and our minds which will result in hindering our skill. In 2 Timothy 2:5 Paul acknowledges that an athlete only receives the prize if he competes by the rules. Our faith is only strengthened when we’re using it daily and while knowing how to use it the proper manner and at the proper goal.