They say beauty is only skin-deep. What you see on the outside is not always what you get. I have seen some good-looking racecars that don’t have what it takes to be competitive on the track. Without some open heart surgery there is no easy way to find out if what you see is what you get. Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Tech inspection exists for the purpose of making sure the seen and unseen components conform to the rules. The necessity of having to check gives us an indication of our human nature, if we hide it so no one can find it then it is okay. If they don’t find it, it is not cheating. I can think of many sayings we have, in and out of racing, which help us rationalize bending the rules.
“We get paid to cheat and they get paid to catch us”
“What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”
“No one will ever know”
“Everyone’s doing it.”
“I will deal with it in my own way.”
Think about the major correction professional sports has undertaken to remove PED’s, performance enhancing drugs, from the playing field. I remember just a few short years ago they looked the other way. No one wanted to talk about the elephant in the room. We saw records fall as players nearing the end of their careers discovered the fountain of youth and major league sports were only too willing to ride the wave for the almighty dollar.
Many an athlete that accomplished “super human” achievements have been brought down. Many an asterisk appears in the books that record the achievements. Records have be nulled and names have been voided. Fans have been exploited. Why? Because of what is hidden from view.
We rationalize doing something based on the risk of being caught. Is the reward worth it if you received it by doing something illegal, immoral or deceitful? Some would say yes, win at all cost. Some would say yes, as long as no one was hurt. God’s word says, no.
We bend the rules in our favor. We want to have everything work out to our benefit. We spend time trying to figure out how we can get the upper hand and not get caught. We do everything in our power to achieve the best outcome, hiding our efforts undercover.
I have been known to golf a little bit. Golf is a very interesting sport. There are no officials out there checking to see if you are following the rules. You and you alone are responsible for enforcing the rules on yourself. Call your own penalties. That’s when it gets interesting. How many of us are ready to turn ourselves in for something that violates the rules?
If you want to know someone’s true character watch them play golf, will they cheat themselves? Or will they hold up the integrity of the rules. What does it matter it is only a game; right?
In Luke’s gospel he tells us that the blessings we receive from God are contingent on how we handle the things of this world. Do we handle them with the moral character that will honor God? Do we view these resources as someone else’s not to be squandered?
Luke 16:10-13; “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
God doesn’t need tech inspection. He knows all we do, seen and unseen. He knows our hearts, no surgery required. He sees the secrets that hide in each one of our closets. We cannot hide them from Him.
God honors those who honor Him. God’s blessings fall on those who seek him with all their heart. It is not a reward for doing good, like a trophy. It is a result of the condition of our heart. It comes down to a choice. Who will we serve?
We love to sit on the fence. When we evaluate a situation we choose which side of the fence we want to jump down on and live accordingly. We choose the side that benefits us the most. God says there are no fence sitters. If our heart’s desire is to please God, good things will result. If our focus is on ourselves we will miss the blessings that God has for us.
I would like to encourage you to live with integrity in everything you do. Whether seen or unseen we should not need to explain our motives; they should be plain to see. We don’t need to live our lives always looking over our shoulder wondering if anyone is watching. It is difficult to move forward if we are always looking around. In all we do we should not be ashamed if it is exposed for all to see. Only when we live like this do we experience the presence of God in our lives. Amen
Until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.
