Several years ago, I decided to do my first triathlon. It was a sprint distance course which is the shortest distance. For a rookie triathlete, a sprint may as well be an full Ironman.

For years, I had been a hard partier. I drank, smoked and partook in various extracurricular activities (ie. drugs). In high school, I was a varsity swimmer, I wrestled and played lacrosse. In my first two years of college I was an athlete, a swimmer. However, the party animal lifestyle is what I pursued.

Somewhere along the line, I stopped being an athlete and pursued being a party animal.

What happened?

I became what I pursued. We all do. Most the time were are unaware of the change until we look back and have an ‘ah ha’ moment.

Training for my first triathlon revealed the damage of my pursuit of partying. My lungs didn’t work properly, my swim sucked and I could not run more than a few miles.

After my first race, I realized something had changed. I had become a triathlete. Today, I enjoy longer races, like the half Ironman. I can run a marathon, swim two miles and bike 60+ miles if I want.

Finally, I was transformed from a broken-down partier to an athlete because I became what I was pursuing.

• If you want to be a good father or mother, you must intentionally pursue it.
• If you want to be a good spouse or friend, you must pursue it.
• If you want to know God, you must pursue him.

However, if you pursue worthless things, you will become worthless. If you pursue material things, you will become lifeless, just like material things.

In Jeremiah 2, Israel pursued lifeless idols of money, sex and power (Baal). All of it was worthless. They became worthless. Today, people pursue idols of self-gratification, self-deification, money, sex and power. Not much has changed.

What or who are you pursuing?

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