"Lord, I don't ask that I should win, but please, please don't let me finish behind Akabusi."
Jesus’ holistic approach
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” Luke 5:1-10
What struck me about this passage is the way Jesus moves seamlessly from the spiritual to the practical and back to the spiritual. The reality is, rather, that for Jesus there was no separation between “religious” activities and “practical” workplace matters. Jesus seems as concerned about Peter’s anxieties that the lack of income from the night’s fishing would leave him unable to pay the mortgage – not to mention with no lunch! – as he was about teaching the people about God. Having solved Peter’s practical problem Jesus then calls Peter into a new job.
It is helpful for us to grasp this truth that there is no distinction between different types of human activity. If your sport requires you to compete on Sunday or miss a small-group, don’t feel guilty. Aim simply to compete for Jesus as an act of worship with the same enthusiasm that you would sing the songs in church.