As an athlete, I carefully diagnose many facets of my game. As a pitcher, I pay special attention to gripping for pitches, my hips moving at the right time, and my arm slot for throwing. I watch the hitter for specific tells in their swing, trying to locate a specific weakness. I watch for where the hitter stands in the batter's box. I watch film of myself pitching, looking for flaws in my mechanics. All the preparation I do contributes towards my performance on the mound.
After reading this, you may think you have stumbled upon the wrong blog. You were looking for something that talks about Christianity, not baseball. I promise you, however, that my baseball fascination does tie in with what I want to say. As Christians, we need to be aware of influences around our life. According to Merriam-Webster, observe means to watch carefully especially with attention to details or behavior for the purpose of arriving at a judgment. It's important to give yourself a self-diagnosis on occasion.
Self-reflection is critical for growth in our relationship with God. If never checked on, how do you know you're in the right? If we are focused on God, He will help us with those check-ins. He will let you know if you need to change something in your life, but you need to be willing to listen. From a Biblical perspective, being observant means to look for areas of improvement in our walk and being aware of what we allow in and out of our life. The verse I want us to hone in on today is Proverbs 4: 20-27. It says:
20 My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. 24 Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:20-27 NIV)
Upon reading this verse, I am reminded of a popular proverb that was quoted to me all the time growing up in church. "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." There were hand motions done along with it too, covering up the eyes, ears, and mouth for each part. It was made to be a cute, catchy little phrase in the church classroom, but it teaches an incredibly important lesson. Our intake develops us into our identity. It grounds our decisions. What we watch, say, and listen to all have major influence on who we become.
This is why this passage is so crucial. Verse 23 says: "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." It's crucial that we monitor the things around us that have influence. Everything we take in from lectures, TV shows, and simple hangouts with friends are all channeled into the heart. In our hearts is where our character is being built. If we chose to surround ourselves with Christian influences, that's what our heart will take in. If it's more worldly influences, the heart will take that in too. That is why I believe it is crucial that we are observant to the influences around us. The heart does not discriminate; it listens and keeps everything that flows into it.
This is why it is so important to be observant of our relationship with God. When you are focused on Him, you make better decisions. You spend more time at church, you are delving into the Bible more, and you are taking time to pray. When you are focused more on the world, it's much easier to be lead astray. There's not as much God in your life. It's easier to forget He even exists.
To wrap up, I want to present you with a story. My junior year of high school, my baseball team advanced to the state quarterfinals. We were one of eight teams in the state of Michigan remaining in the playoffs. My coach had a decision to make on who would start that quarterfinal game pitching. Our best and second best starting pitchers had pitched recently and were not available to pitch this game. My coach narrowed his decision down to me and a senior leader on the team. After a talk with me and the other leaders on the team, he decided to start me. I was thrilled of course. I wanted to pitch this game badly, until I heard chatter around me. There were some important players on my team who disagreed with the decision. They made it known too they weren't happy. It was a shot to the gut for me confidence wise. These guys had my back every time I went out to pitch, or so I thought. On the day of the quarterfinal game, I wasn't nearly that excited to pitch. I wasn't myself mentally and it showed. I wasn't able to get through the fourth inning. It was probably my quickest exit from a game all year. My team lost the game and our season ended.
One of my biggest regrets in life is that game. I know for certain if I could redo that game, I would have done much better. I wouldn't have let my teammates rattle me like that. I would have stuck to just playing and not worrying about what others around me thought. I let the others around me dictate what my talent was. Don't let people around you dictate to you your worth. Let what God's Word says about you tell you who you are. For a while, I held major anger in my heart after that game. I know better, however, than to let that anger dominate my thoughts. I'm not much of a big talker to begin with, but I was dead silent that summer. I couldn't talk at all because all I had was anger and regret inside. My intake was not healthy. Fortunately, I had an amazing family who went to church every Sunday and helped me through getting out of a funk.
It's important to have the Word of God anchor us. It helps us when we observe ourselves to know right from wrong. God's word is meant to be a standard for us. Think of the word Bible as an acronym for 'basic instructions before leaving earth." God has given us the manual for living the good life. Be observant of your walk with God. Be on the lookout for what He wants to do through you next.
Dear God, I thank you for this space to honor you. I pray that you help us be more observant. Point out to us areas in our life that need more of you. Show us what things to cut off and what things to keep. I pray that we continue to press in, focusing on Jesus. Continue to guide us in our everyday lives and make yourself real to us. I pray for all this for everyone who reads this in Jesus' name. Amen.
For further reading on this, check out Proverbs 3:5-8.