"You Need to Lose that Weight!"

Kind of a rude thing to say to someone, don’t you think!? Well, that’s pretty much what I said to one of my friends last week. But it wasn’t “pounds” or “fat” I was encouraging him to lose. It was “weight” as used by the writer of Hebrews: “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” (Hebrews 12:1, NKJ)

The word “weight” is rooted in the word “bend,” meaning a burden that causes you to bend under its load. Notably, this charge to lose weight is followed by a challenge to “run the race set before you” [the emphasis is personal: each of us is running his/her own race!]. You definitely won’t run well if you’re weighed down. Distinguishing between a “weight” and “sin,” the Hebrews writer seems to imply that a weight is not something overtly sinful, but something that is holding you back. That said, it does become sinful when God tells you to “put it off” (Eph. 4:22). But you don't.

So what I was saying to my young friend was this: there is something in your life that is hindering your race, slowing you down, and could eventually disqualify you. Those are serious words, but I didn’t say them—Paul did!—when he urged us to run our race in such a way that we will win (1 Co. 9:24-27).

What about you? Is there some ‘weight’ you need to lose? What prevents you from losing it?

Also, see blog post: Are You a Loser? http://dyingtoliveabundantlife.blogspot.com/search?q=loser