Luke 19:11-27

This verse was purely based on the inspiration of an idea that crossed my mind after the race.  I didn't have anything in this race that was associated with 19:11 or the 27 either.  So, let me share my thinking.

At some point in my blogging, I know I have blogged about the parable of the talents, although I am hard pressed to find it.  The key is that I have spent time thinking about the consequences of not using my God given talents and the poor outcomes that will follow.

What I spent time thinking about last Saturday after the 10K was another parable.  The parable of the talents as told by Matthew is one in which three servants are given different amounts.  Two double what they have and are rewarded.  One does nothing with what he is given and is punished.

In Luke's version (19:11-27) it is a bit more complicated.  In Luke's version three men are each given one gold coin.  One turns it into 10 and is given a great reward.  One turns it into 5 and is given a moderate reward.  And the third does nothing with his and is punished.

So, in each case, the one who did nothing is punished and the one with the biggest return is rewarded.  What is interesting is a comparison of the guys in the middle in the two cases.  In Matthew's story the guy in the middle starts with less resources.  In Luke's story the guy in the middle is presumed not to have worked as hard.

I thought I might have better than a seven minute mile average pace in me.  Am I losing sleep over the fact that I "only" managed to run a seven minute average pace and not something faster?  No.  There were a lot of variables.  My fastest one mile run in over two decades the day before.  The warmth.  The stress of a very busy day.  And the fact that I had run 2.9 miles before the race.  Each could have contributed.

However, as I was running back to the symphony hall after the race and passing by a student of mine, I did think, could I have done more?  Did I not set my sights high enough?  Did I set an achievable goal at the cost of not doing even better if I had set a goal that would have made me strive just a little more even if I had not made it?  And, in the end, what is better?  To set an achievable goal and make it or to set an aspirational goal and fail.  Setting goals that are just good enough is probably not what life should be about  Setting goals to be the best I can possibly be--the aspirational goals that I have to keep working toward, should be what I focus on.  I should aim to be the man who returned 10 golden coins--even if I fall short and perhaps only come back with a few, rather than being the guy who makes 5 golden coins without having to try very hard.   

Good Enough (or Not?): James 1:22

Despite running my best half marathon ever--whether it truly was 13.1 or as most of us with GPS devices had it closer to 13.25--I have been pondering whether I raced, "hard enough." Why has this been bugging me when it is not like I am on a competitive team? When I tell myself, "You are only competing to get your own best time?" When, if I had placed one higher I would not have been drawn to Psalm 18 yesterday? When I really should be considering the race an accomplishment?

While teaching Sunday school yesterday, I figured out why. It came to me as I was mostly thinking. We have two third grade classes, and yesterday we all met together. The other teacher took the lead while I helped, so I had time to think. And what I realized was that there is a key difference between good enough and best. On report cards when I was in third grade we had satisfactory and outstanding. The key question is whether satisfactory is good enough. If I could have done better but didn't what does that say?

And it all comes back to the story of St Sebastian. The story tells us (regardless of whether it is fact or just a story) that there was one attempt on his life that he survived. I don't know enough about the stories of various saints to know whether being "almost a martyr" is enough to get sainthood, but he may have been named a saint just for the recovery from the archers. Who knows? The key is once he recovered he didn't just sit back and say, "I've done enough." He continued on the path to argue for God.

So, I've set two personal bests for the year. While I have reasons for not running another full marathon this year, what is my attitude toward another half marathon. If I were to run another, would it be "just for fun"? Would it be "to pace a friend"? Or would I run it to try to continue to improve?  Have I become complacent?

On the one hand, I have to realize that at some point I will plateau. I guess I am stuck trying to figure out whether to anticipate that plateau or to always push myself as hard as I can unless I am purposefully pacing a friend. I once asked myself, "If I don't push as hard as I can, why bother registering for and running a race rather than just going out for a Saturday jog?" If I stop asking myself that question, what does it mean? And what would it mean if I only went out for jogs either by myself or with a group but never pushed myself to my limits?

And, of course, all this comes back to general spirituality in ways that extend well beyond the story of St. Sebastian for me. Religion is not supposed to be about just hearing and passively observing. Religion is not supposed to be complacent.  Religion is supposed to be about doing. Take James 1:22:

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.

A good lesson to take forward for life in general. Maybe, once again, I have to think about which activities and how many activities. But whatever activities I undertake should be whole hearted rather than half-assed (excuse the language but there is no better expression I could think of to end today's entry).