When you’re getting ready to start a new exercise routine, you might find yourself in the market for a workout buddy. We all need accountability, and more often than not, we need someone who’s smarter than us or someone who’s been down this road before. If you’re really smart, you’ll choose a workout buddy who knows a thing or two about getting in shape. Maybe they lost 400 lbs. and you want to tap into that experience. Or perhaps they ran cross country in school and they know a ton about running.
Accountability is key. On days when you want to slack off, your buddy pushes you further than you could go on your own. On days when they want to skip the gym, you’re there to call them out. It’s a win-win.
In the Church, we have a wide range of workout buddies to choose from. The fight for the salvation of your soul is a workout, there’s no doubt about it. With hard work and intentionality, your spiritual muscles grow and the lure of temptation becomes less and less appealing. It’ll never be gone, but neither will the sheer deliciousness of doughnuts. You take steps to minimize the risks.
That’s what we did yesterday. Before we even started this whole thing, we planned a route home from Church that doesn’t involve any doughnut shops. We found the glaring things in our lives that are keeping us from being saints and we kicked them to the curb.
Now that we’ve started this workout and turned this new leaf, we need a workout buddy. We need someone who knows all about living a holy life. We need someone to help us, to encourage us when we fall, and to give us that critical element of accountability. We need someone who’s been in our shoes here on earth and has made it to the goal. We need a Saint to help us. On the classic show, “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?,” each player had a lifeline called “Phone a Friend.” We won’t be using AT&T to make the connection today, but we will be phoning a friend.
These next 21 days are going to be filled with the temptation to return to complacency. We’re going to be tempted to give up on our good work in a few days, and a few days after that, and a few days after that. We need help.
Today, I want you to pick a patron Saint for this journey. Pick a Saint that you already know, or find someone new. Pick a well known Saint, or pick an obscure Saint. Pick them and give them a call. Ask them to be your partner on this journey.
This is an important relationship for this process, that’s why we’re doing this on the first day. Easy enough?
