“And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.” – 2 Timothy 2:5
Obey the Rules
On April 21, 1980, Cuban-American runner Rosie Ruiz completed the Boston Marathon with a women’s record time of 2:31:56. However, some things seemed out of the ordinary. In the early stages of the race, no one saw her running. She also did not appear in any videotape of the race. There were even some who claimed they saw her run into the race during the last mile.
After the race, a reporter asked her why she didn’t seem to be very tired after running such a difficult race and she responded with, “I got up with a lot of energy this morning.” Also, her time was a whopping 25-minute improvement over her New York City Marathon six months prior.
About a week later, she was stripped of the women’s title, which was then awarded to Jacqueline Gareau of Montreal with a time of 2:34:28. Ruiz was subsequently stripped of her 1979 New York finish, as well.
God tells us that if we are going to contend in the games, we won’t win the title unless we obey the rules. But whose rules are being referred to? God’s or man’s ? The answer is, of course, both. God will not reward the believer who breaks His rules (ie. Ex.20, Matt.5,7,22, Eph 4, etc.) or man’s rules (ie. I Pet 2:13). If, after having run the race God has set before you, you wish to be rewarded, obey the rules.
This includes the posted speed limits. Ouch!
— BURNEY SHEALEY
(PHOTO CREDIT: Shinya Suzuhttps)
