“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

Impulsiveness.

You have been working out every day. You have been watching what you eat, avoiding the foods you know are not good for you. You have been drinking water. You have been going to bed at a good hour and waking up early.

Impulsiveness.

Out of nowhere you have the urge to splurge! And before you know it, you’re chowing down on a double bacon cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate shake.

Impulsiveness.

You have been disciplined to put money away every paycheck. You have been careful to invest wisely. You have fought the urge to make unnecessary purchases.

Impulsiveness.

Out of nowhere you have the urge to splurge! And before you know it, you are now the new owner of a set of 50 Shamwow towels!!!

Impulsiveness.

What is the opposite of impulsiveness? Discipline. Stay the course.

Most champions, winners, and spiritually maturing individuals are who they are because they stay the course. Because they remain disciplined.

Impulsiveness is the trait that will keep you from developing as a disciple of Jesus.

“Jesus said again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God’” (Mark 10:24b).

“How hard it is to ender the Kingdom of God…”

That’s what Jesus said. And, he meant it. We don’t normally think of it this way. We tend to think that following Jesus and entering the Kingdom of God is the most reasonable thing for us to do.

The context for this passage is Jesus’ encounter with a rich young ruler. The rich young ruler runs up to Jesus and falls on his knees before him and asks Jesus what he has to do to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus responds to his question by telling him to keep the commandments – referring to the Ten Commandments. To which the young man responds, surprisingly, that he has faithfully kept all of God’s commands.

Wow! That’s some confidence!

What is surprising, is that the gospel writer tells us that Jesus is in agreement with the rich young ruler. We are told, “Jesus looked at him and loved him” (Mark 10:21).

Wow! That’s impressive!

Then, Jesus tells him the one thing that’s keeping this young man from the kingdom of heaven – “One thing you lack. Go and sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mark 10:21).

This young man had kept all the commandments of God. This man had lived his life right. This man was an upstanding man.

But, one thing he lacked.

For him, it was his money and wealth. The point is not necessarily about money and wealth. The question is what is the one thing which you treasure even more than Jesus? What is the one thing that remains unsurrendered to Jesus. It is what you treasure, what remains unsurrendered to Jesus that impedes your spiritual growth and maturity.

It is that which we treasure more than Jesus, the thing that remains unsurrendered to Jesus that is an impedance to our spiritual growth and maturity.

What is the one thing you lack? What do you treasure more than Jesus?

“Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.”

Tony Campolo was once preaching to a wealthy Presbyterian church on the West Coast.

He said, “In the next hour, 5,000 children are going to die of starvation, and most of you don’t give a s*&t. And what’s really sad is that more of you are upset that I said s*&t than that 5,000 children are going to die. Now, let’s talk about the nature of obscenity.”

God declared through the prophet Isaiah long ago, “Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like noonday” (Isaiah 58:6-10).