“All I know most surely about morality and obligation I owe to football”,
Flee, follow and fight
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 1Timothy 6:11Someone has summed up Paul’s advice to Timothy on how to deal with sin as flee, follow and fight! Then in verse 11 Paul gives Timothy six characteristics to aspire to.
• righteousness
• godliness
• faith
• love
• endurance
• gentleness.
While I can sum each one up in a sentence, it may make us a life-time to learn to put themselves into practice!
Righteousness – the great thing about righteousness is that we don’t have to achieve it. We are righteous because of what Christ has done for us. Godliness (or Christlikeness) – is just seeking to live our lives as God would want us to.
Faith – is believing in Jesus, despite our doubts and when circumstances make it hard for us to believe. Love – Loving our neighbour as ourselves; letting God’s love flow through us. Endurance – keeping going when it is tough and easier to give up. Gentleness – treating offers with love and grace.
Let’s us all try to aspire to these characteristics in our sports lives.