Practice, Practice, Practice

The Brady Bunch was a much beloved family sit-com from the 1970's. Those of us who are familiar with the show fondly remember it's most famous line: "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia." Middle sister Jan, had grown tired of having to live up to her older sister's accomplishments. Whenever I think of having to practice, it reminds me of Jan's lament about her older sister. "Practice, practice, practice".

practice?

Allen Iverson could probably relate. In May 2002, Allen Iverson was being interviewed by the Philadelphia sports writers. He was asked about his dedication to practice. It had been a constant complaint against him by his coach, Larry Brown. Iverson's response became one of the more memorable rants. Iverson uttered the now iconic words “We talking about practice.Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. We talking about practice”. Before Iverson was done, he mentioned the word practice 22 times.

Practice Rant Video

We all typically enjoy the game. It is the most fun part. It is also the most glamorous part. On the other hand, most of us usually don’t enjoy practice.Practice or practise is the act of rehearsing a behavior over and over, or engaging in an activity again and again, for the purpose of improving or mastering it.It can be arduous and tedious. But practice is where we learn, where we grow. We have all heard the adage that “practice makes perfect.” An even truer saying is that practice makes permanent.

Former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden won an astonishing 10 championships in 12 seasons. He said practice is where he did most of his teaching, as opposed to the game. Some of the things he emphasized were fundamentals; in other words the basics. His players would repeat the basics over and over game until it became second nature. That way once the game started, they knew what to do. They would not panic when it became under pressure. Whatever is inside of us, will come out of us under pressure. His teams overcame the challenges that the opposition presented to them.

John the Apostle understood the value of practice. In 1st john 1:6 and again in 2:29, he tells us that believers also must practice.

In 1st John we are told that we are overcomers (1st John 2:13-14; 4:4; 5:4-5). An overcomer is someone who prevails; who subdues; to conquer. At its root the word is translated as the means to success”. Make no mistake, 1st John is speaking about spiritual warfare. For some reason we tend to assume that John was somehow a pacifist. We forget that Jesus nicknamed him “son of thunder’ for a reason.

If we are going to live as an overcomer, it starts with practicing the basics. John gives us two fundamental things that we must practice.

1. Truth (1 John 1:6) - If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

2. Righteousness (1 John 2:29)- If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

Notice the comparison to the believers armor in Ephesians 6. The first two things that we are equipped with in our warfare are truth and righteousness (Eph. 6:14).

We will not always get it right; we will make mistakes and blow it. However, in today’s social climate, we are constantly being given opportunities to practice on a daily basis.

Truth and righteousness should be a part of who we are and how we orientate our life decisions.