Tag Archive for: Competition

Olympic Second

Armodoxy Today: Olympic Second

The Olympic competitions are unavoidable these days as athletes from throughout the world are competing for the top titles and the medals: gold for first place, silver for second and bronze for third. Of course, the networks that carry the actual games are busy sending signals across the globe, and everyone else is quick to report results, with an emphasis on their favored team.

I find the level of competition fascinating. We are watching world class athletes push the limits of their bodies. Take a moment to watch a competition and especially pay attention to how the competitions that are measured by time, such as a race or a swim meet. I watched a relay race that was decided by one one-hundredth of a second! I mean, how fast is that? It’s faster than the blink of an eye. Perhaps the flap of a fly’s wing? Let’s agree that it’s fast. Super fast. Now think about it, when you hear that the world competition is decided by one one-hundredth of a second, It means that the winner who took home second place, the silver medal was only off by a hundredth of second! You look at them standing in the winners area. The gold medal winner is standing there and next to the guy who did not win.

Now let’s be fair. The guy who lost by a hundredth of a second is indeed a world class athlete! Come on… even the athlete who comes in last place, is world class and misses the gold by only a few seconds. But all is fair in love and Olympic competitions and he has to step down and accept the silver medal. In the days of non-electronic time pieces, measuring such differences might not have been observed, but they are today, and the athlete who has prepared all of his or her life for this competition is set off by this fraction of a second by which he or she missed the mark.

I couldn’t help but make the parallel in Christian life and the notion of sin. Sin is simply missing the mark. It’s a term that makes sense in archery. Imagine a target with a black dot in the center of a series of red and white circles. Anything outside of the black dot, what we refer to as the bull’s eye, is sin. Some people hit the line between the red and black, others hit the space on the third rung and still others miss the target completely. All of the hits are in sin.

In our life, we sin. It doesn’t mean we are bad people, rather, it only means that we are people. Only God is sinless. Anything outside of the center – outside of perfection – is sin, or being human. And since we all miss the mark of perfection, ours is not to judge. Leave the judging for the Olympic games and focus rather on improving yourself. The difference between Gold, Silver and Bronze may be seconds, but in the sight of God those seconds melt into an amalgama called life.

Let us pray, Grace us, O Lord the vision to follow in the path of the saints. Strengthen in me the resolve to improve on the graces you have bestowed upon me, to exercise my soul with love and compassion, in my path toward the Kingdom. Amen.

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God’s Competition

Armodoxy for Today: God Competing

Competition is another word for the Olympics. The best of the best come together on the world stage to demonstrate their athletic and physical prowess every few years. Yesterday we spoke about the competition for the prize, citing that the real prize, far from the gold and silver, is the love of God. There is no competing for His love, but the question is does God have to compete for our attention and our love?

It is rather a strange visual against the backdrop of the Olympics to imagine God in a competition for us! Unfortunately, there are many forces that compete against God and even more tragically they win! Yes, they call into question the phrase “Almighty God.” Sure, He’s powerful, but the “gold” He is competing for is our hearts. He’s running a race and the other athletes are fear, hatred, materialism, self-glory, self-pity, apathy, to name just a few of the contenders.

At the finish line, the trophy is us! It not that God isn’t fast enough to win, rather, the obstacles along the way – the hurdles – are put up by us! Just as God gets close enough to us, we set another hurdle for Him to overcome. Meanwhile, the other forces, including materialism and all of its lavish accessories, run without obstacles, and certainly we don’t put any hurdles in their course because they each provide us with a false sense of security.

Armodoxy is the testament to the true securities that God blesses us with, whether courage, spirit, love, strength, or focus, they are the blessings that help us win the victories of life.

The Olympics give us a chance to view the competition all around us. We don’t compete for God’s love, but He competes for ours, every day with the beauty and wonder that He sets up all around us.

From the Armenian Church’s Book of Hours we pray, We thank You, O Lord, our God, who awakened us from the rest of sleep by the grace of Your mercy. Awaken our mind for justice before You, so our eyes will see Your salvation. Come and dwell in me. Amen.

Olympic Prize

Armodoxy for Today: Olympic Prize

The Olympics are back! Athletes from throughout the world are competing for the gold and silver. Every four years this tradition brings together countries under the umbrella of sportsmanship. The best of the best gather on the world stage and the planet watches.

Years of training and discipline are over in a few minutes. If they are successful they are remembered for a few days, perhaps week or months, until someone does better or sets a new record. And if they are not successful, then they are already forgotten.

There is a healthy atmosphere of competition displayed at the Olympics. However, competition is a double-edged sword because it may be necessary to win the games but it can lead to obsession which stands in the way of the true prize.

The gold and silver are the prizes we seek. The author of Proverbs writes, Take my instruction instead of silver and knowledge rather than choice gold; For wisdom is better than jewels and all that you may desire cannot compare with her. (8:10)

The true prize that we may be sure of is the prize that never loses value and it is a prize for which we never have to compete. It is God’s love. His love is guaranteed. It never gets old. It cannot be taken away from you. It is the last of the old-fashion freebees of life.

Armodoxy is the proof, the faith of a people, who relied on this awesome power against all the odds, a certainty of God’s love which is unfailing. It is the assurance of resurrection against the odds of crucifixion.

In the spirit of competition that is displayed at the Olympic games, understand that the true prize is God’s love. And then…, ask yourself, does God have to compete for my love? That’s tomorrow.

We pray today from the Armenian Church’s Book of Hours, “You are blessed Almighty Lord, for always accompanying those who call to You with faithful and righteous hearts. We ask You, to lead and guide Your servants on this journey so that we may be grow together with our loved ones in peace. Amen.