“Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.”
1 Timothy 4:15 ESV
“I don’t hear anything,” Momma’s voice called out from the kitchen. I sighed loudly. Positioning my hands once again on the keys of the upright piano sitting in the front room, I started playing scales with my too-long fingernails, clicking with every note struck.
I wanted to play the piano well. I wanted to play fun sing-along music. I wanted to play serious, moody, romantic pieces. I wanted to play dramatic, soul-stirring music. I wanted to be a great pianist.
I did not want to play scales. I did not want to play rhythm in time with a monotonous metronome. I did not want to keep my fingernails cut short. But most of all, I did not want to practice.
Repeatedly hearing “practice makes perfect” over the years did not convince or motivate me. I wanted instantaneous perfection. I wanted easy, effortless perfection – no work required.
After years of paying for piano lessons that were not producing a virtuoso (not the fault of my excellent piano teacher!), my folks decided to cut their losses, which meant the end of the piano lessons. Another long sigh – this time relief!
I see parallels between my attitude towards perfecting my piano playing skills and my too-frequent attitude towards my walk with Christ. I want easy, effortless perfection – no work required.
If we’re honest, many would admit the same thing. We want to be stellar Christians—bright lights shining in the darkness, but we don’t want to get out of the comfy chair to walk over to the light switch to turn it on—too much effort.
We want to be faithful, obedient Christ-followers. But when we fail to “get it right” the first or second time, we face a choice to obey God or respond in the flesh. Too often, we’re ready to give up. It’s too hard.
We fail to understand that Christian growth requires practice. Every failure is an opportunity to learn and grow. Failure can be an effective tool in building spiritually healthy, lifelong habits.
In “Mere Christianity,” C. S. Lewis says this about our failure to pursue and achieve perfection in any part of our Christian walk through human-powered efforts:
“You must ask for God’s help. Even when you have done so, it may seem to you for a long time that no help, or less help than you need, is being given. Never mind. After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again. For however important chastity (or courage, or truthfulness, or any other virtue) may be, this process trains us in habits of the soul which are more important still. It cures our illusions about ourselves and teaches us to depend on God.”
Lewis continues, “We learn, on the one hand, that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, and, on the other, that we need not despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven. The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection.” – C. S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”
(Italics and bold letters added for emphasis.)
“The power of always trying again” is another way of describing the efficacy of practice, practice, practice. Our willingness to try again—and again—and again when we fail in matters of faith is the essence of practicing obedience.
A principle that proves to be true is that repeated practice of an activity (good or bad) eventually becomes an established habit. Habits are settled tendencies or behaviors that become second nature—almost involuntary.
When we falter, fail, or sin, if we repent and ask God’s forgiveness and empowerment to respond appropriately in thought, word, or deed, He hears and will help us. His help may come as a “do-over,” meaning you’ll face the same type of situation again so you can practice a correct response.
Paul, Peter, and the writer of Hebrews addressed the necessity of practice.
In Philippians (4:4-9), Paul sent a laundry list of virtues to the church in Philippi, telling them to practice the things they saw Paul practice in his life:
- Rejoice in the Lord
- Show commonsense, be reasonable
- Don’t be a worrier, be a prayer warrior
- Think on things true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and on good things worthy of praise
Paul says if you practice these things, you will know the peace of God.
“What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me–practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:9 ESV
In his letter to the Jewish churches scattered in the Dispersion, Peter encourages the Christians to practice virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love so that they will be effective, fruitful, and stand firm in their calling.
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. …be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” 2 Peter 1:5-8, 10 ESV
The author of Hebrews writes that the constant practice of discernment enables the mature believer to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:14).
Don’t let failed attempts at faithfulness derail you or the necessity of ongoing practice discourage you. Be thankful and encouraged that God gives you one opportunity after another to practice whatever He wants you to learn.
Will practice eventually get you to perfection? No, but it will undoubtedly move you in the right direction. More importantly, your constant practice of obedience and faithfulness will result in heart-rooted God-honoring habits. The more you practice, the stronger and louder your life testimony will be to the world around you.
Practice. Practice. Practice.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” Psalm 111:10 ESV