What's Hold You Back?
I'm an avid Cincinnati Reds fan. I don't hide that fact.
After moving to Pikeville, one of the things I started to miss was my daily dose of Reds news and notes from local sports talk radio. I missed listening to the Reds on Radio broadcast in my car on the way home from church on Wednesday evenings.
No one can call a game like Marty Brennaman. I grew up listening to Marty and Joe (Nuxhall) call Reds games on the radio. I love to listening to Marty just talk baseball while calling balls and strikes.
At the start of each game, usually after the first pitch, Marty does a public service announcement. He'll remind listeners in their cars to make sure their safety belts are buckled. "What's holding you back," he'll say. (It's the tagline for the seat belt campaign.) I love it because it has a double-meaning. Literally, what's holding you back from getting killed in a car accident? (Hopefully a seat belt.) But it's also asking another question - what's holding you back from putting a seat belt on?
I'll be honest. I'm a big fan of seat belts. I've seen too many accidents where people have died simply because they weren't strapped in. (And I've seen horrible accidents people walked away from simply because they were belted in.) I don't feel comfortable in a car unless I wear a seatbelt.
But a lot of people don't like them. Some won't even wear them. (A pet-peave of mine, by the way.) Why? Or as Marty would say, "What's holding them back?"
For many, I think it's pride. They don't like being told they have to wear one, so they don't. For some, its comfort. They're just more comfortable not wearing a seatbelt. For others, it's fear. They fear being trapped in a car with a seatbelt locked.
Whatever the reason, they choose to live dangerously. They choose to drive without wearing a seatbelt.
As believers, we choose to do the same thing with our minds. We know certain situations will tempt us, but instead of walking away, we plunge ahead, dangerously knowing the consquences. We know certain movies will flash skin, but instead of avoiding them, we stand in line to buy the ticket, because everyone else is going. We know certain friends will lead us down a dark path of temptation, but instead of finding someone else to hang out with, we simply keep hanging around them.
I'll pose Marty's question: What's holding you back.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:29-30, that if something is causing you to sin - if something in your life is tempting you - to get rid of it. Throw it away. Cast it off. Often times, they are things that are dear to us - a friend, a movie, a favorite band, a lifestyle, a job, popularity. The list goes on.
But Jesus says, if it's causing you to grow away from me, then get rid of it. Sadly, many of us choose to maintain our lifestyle than to make some radical changes for Jesus.
So again, "What's holding you back?"
After moving to Pikeville, one of the things I started to miss was my daily dose of Reds news and notes from local sports talk radio. I missed listening to the Reds on Radio broadcast in my car on the way home from church on Wednesday evenings.
No one can call a game like Marty Brennaman. I grew up listening to Marty and Joe (Nuxhall) call Reds games on the radio. I love to listening to Marty just talk baseball while calling balls and strikes.
At the start of each game, usually after the first pitch, Marty does a public service announcement. He'll remind listeners in their cars to make sure their safety belts are buckled. "What's holding you back," he'll say. (It's the tagline for the seat belt campaign.) I love it because it has a double-meaning. Literally, what's holding you back from getting killed in a car accident? (Hopefully a seat belt.) But it's also asking another question - what's holding you back from putting a seat belt on?
I'll be honest. I'm a big fan of seat belts. I've seen too many accidents where people have died simply because they weren't strapped in. (And I've seen horrible accidents people walked away from simply because they were belted in.) I don't feel comfortable in a car unless I wear a seatbelt.
But a lot of people don't like them. Some won't even wear them. (A pet-peave of mine, by the way.) Why? Or as Marty would say, "What's holding them back?"
For many, I think it's pride. They don't like being told they have to wear one, so they don't. For some, its comfort. They're just more comfortable not wearing a seatbelt. For others, it's fear. They fear being trapped in a car with a seatbelt locked.
Whatever the reason, they choose to live dangerously. They choose to drive without wearing a seatbelt.
As believers, we choose to do the same thing with our minds. We know certain situations will tempt us, but instead of walking away, we plunge ahead, dangerously knowing the consquences. We know certain movies will flash skin, but instead of avoiding them, we stand in line to buy the ticket, because everyone else is going. We know certain friends will lead us down a dark path of temptation, but instead of finding someone else to hang out with, we simply keep hanging around them.
I'll pose Marty's question: What's holding you back.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:29-30, that if something is causing you to sin - if something in your life is tempting you - to get rid of it. Throw it away. Cast it off. Often times, they are things that are dear to us - a friend, a movie, a favorite band, a lifestyle, a job, popularity. The list goes on.
But Jesus says, if it's causing you to grow away from me, then get rid of it. Sadly, many of us choose to maintain our lifestyle than to make some radical changes for Jesus.
So again, "What's holding you back?"
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