Practice Makes Permanent

Growing up, my whole family would go to the golf course a few times each summer to play nine holes. Everyone was pretty good at the game – especially my dad. He was everyone’s coach. My mom liked the game, but my brothers loved it. They enjoyed golf so much that they stuck with it. Now they, like my dad, golf in a league - together. My younger brother is even teaching his sons how to golf.

For years, he would invite me to join the league. I never thought I was all that great and found the game very frustrating. So, I never went to the driving range. I never went out on my own. I rarely went with my brothers once we were adults. 

Every year, I would decline my brother’s invitation to join the league saying I was not very good. Every year he would tell me I was wrong. Despite my lack of work between rounds, and the fact that I golfed about once every two years, I maintained the same score. If I just put in some work, he contended, I would be a competitive golfer in no time.

That was the thing. I didn’t want to put in the time. So, I kept declining. Eventually, my brother stopped asking. Sunday worship is like golf, or basketball, or a musical instrument, or painting, or dancing, or [fill in the blank]. Practice makes permanent. 

Had I practiced, I could have corrected my slice, lengthened my drives, and improved my short game. Permanently. Had I practiced, I could be as good a golfer as I am a drummer. Not good enough to go pro, but, at the very least, good enough to not embarrass myself. 

Alas, what I practiced was not golfing. So, the permanent thing I’m left with is my patented double-par.

Becoming more complete requires practice. Worshiping with other believers on Sunday mornings provides opportunities to practice that. So does becoming more generous with your time and resources. Attending church infrequently or when it fits your schedule won’t do it. Neither will volunteering when you feel like it or when you’re not too busy. The same is true for giving when you get on top of your finances.

If that’s your pattern, you will keep slicing your drives and triple putting the greens. Take a good, honest look at your priorities. Not sure where to start? Look at your calendar and your bank account. Where does your time go? How do you invest your financial resources? How much of it is going where God wants it to go?

This isn’t a guilt trip. It’s also not a call into abject poverty or sacrificing all of your time. You won’t go from novice to PGA status overnight. Ask the Lord to show you one aspect of your game to work on and start practicing today.