There’s a familiar adage in golf, “You drive for show and you putt for dough.” The obvious application is that most people spend more time practicing the less important parts of the game. On average, in a round of golf, you may use the driver twelve to fourteen times or 14% of the time. In comparison, an average golfer will use their putter thirty to thirty-five times a round which equates to almost 40% of the score. So, the question arises as to why most golfers spend most of their practice time with the ‘big stick’ and hit a couple of putts right before the round begins.
In bringing this golf analogy into a kingdom life application, the same premise exists, most people of faith spend most of their time on the externals and not enough time on the internal elements of their faith. Check out this verse:
8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life (perpetuating, reproducing life; dynamo power). Galatians 6:88
I’ve hear it a thousand times, “Read your Bible, pray, go to church, pay your tithe and offering, witness to others!” While all of these practices are viable, shouldn’t they flow naturally out of a Holy Spirit-filled life of devotion and desire to bless our Father, Yahweh? According to the apostle Paul, as we sow to the internal presence of the Spirit, the Spirit will produce fruit (Galatians 5) that will remain. If someone isn’t constantly scheduling church services, Bible studies, prayer meetings and service projects, most people wouldn’t naturally participate in these endeavors. This does not make these endeavors wrong, just positioned on the wrong side of a life in the Spirit. The apostle Paul further explains:
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Galatians 5:16-18
So, what does this mean? Simply that if you are doing all the outward, ‘drive for show’, Christian disciplines and your score is not even close to what you expect, you may need to focus on a part of your ‘game’ that is less impressive but more necessary to your ultimate goals. Praying and sowing to the Spirit aren’t nearly as popular as these other churchy endeavors, but the payoff will glorify the Son and please the Father.