“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2
If you were running a race, what would you take with you? Would you take an umbrella in case it rained; a brush in case your hair got messy; deodorant in case you got sweaty, or gumboots in case it was muddy? Of course, you wouldn’t! You would only take what you absolutely needed. Why? Because anything extra would slow you down.
The Christian life is like a race. Some things in life are like weights than can slow us down from growing as a Christian. They might not necessarily be wrong in themselves, but if they hinder us, we should get rid of them.
What things are like weights?
These are a few practical examples.
Anything that hinders us from reading the Bible and praying
Sometimes it can be books, TV, videos, music, computer games or sport. If these things make reading the Bible a bore, we need to watch out. I love reading! I used to read exciting mystery stories that were non Christian. They weren't wrong, but I noticed that I found my Bible very dry and boring after reading them. It's like eating lollies right before dinner. You lose your appetite for the healthy food. It's not wrong to eat lollies now and again, but not too often and not right before meals. Some books or videos (and other things like that) are like lollies, but there are those that are just plain poison, which we shouldn't touch at all. We need to be careful with these things.
What hinders you from reading the Bible and praying?
Worrying about our looks
“Do I look pretty?” “Do my clothes look cool enough?” “Does my hair look alright?” “Do these clothes make me look fat?” “Are my pimples very noticeable?”
How much time do we waste worrying about these things? Would God let people into Heaven because of their good looks? Is it really that important how we look?
I met a girl who woke up at five every morning to get herself ready for the day by putting on all her makeup, curling her eyelashes etc. She had a pink toolbox to put all her “tools” in! I wonder if she spends the same amount of time with God as she does in front of the mirror.
God has given us a mirror—the Bible. We should spend more time looking in God's mirror than the mirror on the wall.
Worrying about what other people think
How much time do we waste worrying what people think about us? Does it really matter what people think? Are you more worried about what people think of you than about what God thinks of you?
I heard a saying 'We'd worry less what others thought about us if we realized how seldom they do!'
It's so easy to do things just to impress people and to get their approval.
Worldly Friends
“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” 1 Corinthians 15:33
“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” Proverbs 13:20
Friends who don't love God can influence us in the wrong way. They can slow us down from growing as a Christian. Be very careful who your closest friends are. Ask God for good Christian friends who love God and who will encourage you to be a better Christian. They don't have to be your own age.
Boyfriends
God has only one person for you to marry and that one person is the right one. God knows better than you! It's best just to leave it to Him to show you the right person at the right time. Having lots of different boyfriends won't prepare you for marriage; it will prepare you for divorce.
When I was young, I asked God, “If you want me to get married, please show me the right person at the right time.” That way I wouldn't have any boyfriends other than the man I would marry. I knew that if I did, it would have distracted me from serving God. It would have been a weight.
God answered my prayer, and I am so thankful now for that choice I made. How distracted I could have been!
1 Timothy 5:1-2 shows you how to treat guys your own age.
“Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren (brothers); The elder woman as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.”
Worrying
“Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6
How much time do we waste worrying? Somebody said 'Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.'
The Bible says we shouldn't worry about what we're going to eat, drink or wear. God will provide our needs. It also says that all things in our lives will work together for good if we love God. So, what is there to worry about? Why worry when you can pray? When you have things that worry you, take them to God in prayer then trust Him to help.
Fear
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
“What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” Psalm 56:3
When something happens that naturally makes us afraid, what does God say we should do? There are so many things that we might be afraid of, but there are so many verses in the Bible that command us not to fear but to trust in God.
Unbelief
“And he did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” Matthew 13:58
Can God say this about us? How much more would God do in our life if we would only believe with all our heart in God's promises? If we believed the Bible so much that we applied everything we read to our own lives, just imagine what God could do in our life!
What weights in your life do you need to “lay aside”?
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