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Ever since I was just a little kid I have been involved in competitive sports. I began in little league at age six although I am almost certain there were some rather feverish contests of teething ring wrestling at a much earlier age. I am still playing sports competitively as I play golf in several tournaments each year as well as tee it up with blokes who think that our friendly matches are the U. S. Open. In those fifty years of competition I have been swept up by the malady of sports; professional expectations.

A number of years ago I was one of those glowering, article tossing weekend warriors who thought he or she was supposed to hit every ball out of the park, put every first ball right in the pocket, make every three point shot or birdie every hole on the course (even though it meant making a shot from over a hundred yards off the green). As I competed I realized that I was not as good as the pros who, oddly enough, didn't do all the aforementioned things themselves. I came to think more about enjoying the game and less about whether or not I was the winner. Now I watch others whose competitive juices get the best of their real-life ability.

Occasionally I will play a friendly round of golf with someone who agonizes over every tee shot and every iron shot and every chip and every putt to the point where I cease to truly enjoy being with them. I feel like I have been strapped into the chair with someone receiving a root canal surgery with no anesthetic. Recently, while trapped in one of those rounds with someone I had played with just a couple of times, I watched and listened as he constantly complained about every shot and even threatened to quit the round and go home. I had to act.

I asked him what his best round was that he had ever shot on a golf course. When He told me I then asked him, "Why are you so upset when the pace you're on right now will bring you in just a couple of strokes higher than your best round?" Professional expectations. If we did it once, for one brief moment, the way it's supposed to be done, we think we ought to do it every time. Pity that most people don't see life the same way. With almost thirty-six years completed in ministry I have watched people treat sin with a "so what" mentality. Somewhere amid the grace of God and the forgiveness of sin through Jesus' blood we have missed God's expectation level for us.

Jesus made a simple statement which most of us have missed. "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things I have said." John 14:26 Does God give us His divine presence so we can treat sin with an, "Oh, well, everyone does it," attitude? No. The Spirit is there to guarantee our success in living Godly lives which make Jesus' death on the cross look like a great idea from God. The next time you have those professional expectations in your chosen sport remind yourself that God has His own expectations for your life, and sin isn't one of them.

"Bible verse and quote" from Jan Couns

Bible and Quote - March 11-15