Disqualified

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self- control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.


I am a husband and a father of four. God has appointed me to lead my home. The reason God has appointed me is merely because I am the man. This may not sound so wonderful to a feminist generation, but it is God's design. This in no way means that my wife has less value than me. We are both created in God's image and have equal standing before God. The difference is simply in role, and authority.

If this doesn't make much sense, think of the Trinity. Christianity affirms the try-unity of God. God the Father is God, Jesus the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. All three persons of the trinity are equally God. All three persons are fully God, yet they differ in authority and function. Jesus is fully God, yet He has subjected Himself under the authority of the Father.

That being said, I am appointed to lead my home. Since I am appointed to do this, I am always doing this, whether I am doing this well, or doing this very poorly; I am always leading. Douglas Wilson said that even the derelict father that has walked out on his family is still leading from the empty seat at the dinner table.

As the leader, I lead nightly Bible studies with my family. Which means that I am daily preaching. What struck me this morning from the above text is the consequence of being hypocritical. If I preach, "x," and I do not do "x" myself, I become disqualified.

You see while I am preaching to my family, I am explaining the rules to them of the race. It is the race of the Christian faith, and I am teaching the rule book. If I teach the rules and do not obey them myself, I am disqualified from running. Even if someone does not pull me instantly out of the race, the camera's are still on in heaven. And the cheater, who breaks the rules, will never earn the prize.