Ditch that dominant leg

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Have you ever tried walking in a straight line? When we have something guiding us like a landmark or a compass, it’s an easy task, but when those things go away, it’s physically impossible.

To prove my point, grab a friend, blindfold them, and tell them to do their best to walk in a straight line. Then see what happens. You will find that what seems to be a simple task is out of the realms of human possibility.

What is the reason for this?

While there doesn’t seem to be an exact answer, the general consensus seems to be that the issue lies in the dominant leg. While we may feel as though every stride that we take is the same as the one before, the reality is, we actually take longer strides with our dominant leg. Without something guiding us we do nothing but walk in circles.

There are a lot of similarities between our spiritual lives and our dominate leg driving us off course. Similarly, the Apostle Paul compares our spiritual lives to running a race.

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” (1 Corinthians 9:24)

The idea of a bunch of people running a race and only one winning a prize can seem intimidating especially as it pertains to salvation. However, the longer that I am alive, the more I understand the truth of this verse.

The reality of what Paul is saying is that if we do not make Jesus our number one priority, we will never make it.

In other words, in a world where Jesus is not our number one priority, something more enticing and attractive will always come along and draw us away.

Yet, how many of us make Jesus our number-one priority?

More often than not, Jesus is just an aspect of our lives — not the driving force behind it. He is the one who we work our schedule around, not the ONE who defines it.

Unfortunately, it is not until we realize the significance of Paul’s words that we realize that we are in grave danger of being drawn away by something more enticing.

The temptation is to believe that Paul didn’t actually mean what he said, and that as long as Jesus is in our “top ten” list of priorities we will be alright.

Every day that we choose to live without Jesus being our focus is like trying to walk through a desert without a compass. Or, it’s like trying to walk in a straight line with a blindfold on.

We can convince ourselves all day long that we are on the right path, but its not until we look back at the course and realize that we should have just ditched the dominant leg.

It’s not until its too late that we realize that we cant keep ourselves on course unless we have Someone guiding us.

David Waddle is Pastor at the Lynchburg First Church of Christ.

David Waddle

Contributing columnist

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