Character Training

Read: 1 Timothy 4:6-8, 15-16

As Marco walked home from school, he heard a familiar voice calling his name. Turning, he saw his Sunday school teacher. “Hi, Mr. Yoon!” exclaimed Marco, running to meet him. “What are you doing on this street?”

“I just came from Jack Myers’ house. He and his parents visited our church last week, and I offered to look at a problem they’re having with their garage door.”

“They just moved here,” said Marco. “Jack seems like a nice guy, but I felt pretty bad for him at school today. It was track and field day, and he was last in almost everything. He didn’t seem to be very upset about it though. He kept cheering everyone else on.”

“It looks like you did all right.” Mr. Yoon motioned toward the red ribbon and three blue ribbons pinned to Marco’s shirt.

“Yeah, I do okay in a lot of the events.”

“That’s great,” said Mr. Yoon. “You must have worked hard to train yourself to do those things. Did you know that the apostle Paul mentioned physical training in a letter he wrote to Timothy?”

“He did?” said Marco. “What did he say?”

“He said that physical training has value, but it’s more important to train yourself to be godly by learning and practicing the things that help you grow as a Christian.”

Marco thought about that. “So you don’t think Paul would be very impressed with my ribbons?”

“Paul wasn’t putting down physical training. He just wanted Timothy to be even more concerned about growing in his relationship with Jesus and living out his faith.” Mr. Yoon smiled. “You deserve to be congratulated on those ribbons, Marco. But if you hadn’t gotten any ribbons, that would’ve been okay. Godly character is what’s really important. It’s far more important to be like Jesus than to be good in sports.”

Marco nodded thoughtfully. “You know what? I think Jack has that. Godly character, I mean.” He paused to look down at the ribbons on his chest. “I think I’ll stop by his house on my way home. I want him to know that even though he didn’t get any ribbons today, I can tell he’s been training in what’s really important.”

–Rosalie J. Currier

How about you? Do you put a lot of value on physical ability and training? It’s good to train your body, but having a heart like Jesus is much more important. So go ahead—train in the sports you enjoy and do your best in them. But more importantly, train yourself to be godly by growing in your relationship with Jesus and depending on Him to help you follow His example of love in all you do.

Today's Key Verse: Train yourself to be godly. 1 Timothy 4:7 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Godly character is of great value