All The Weights

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 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, 

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." 

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV) 

For most of my adult life, I have run for exercise and even for fun.  When running, you want to be sure you dress correctly and wear clothing that is designed for running.  With the shoes and clothes you wear, weight is always a consideration.  You never want to carry more weight than you need to, because the more weight you have the harder it is to run and the sooner you are tired out.  With less weight, you can run faster and longer than you would when you carry more weight. 

Hebrews 12 talks about us running our race, which is talking about living our life, doing the will of God.  Hebrews 12 tells us to lay aside all the weight and sin that would hinder us from running our race for God.  Most people will acknowledge that sin is bad and we need to eliminate sin from our life.  But what many people don't realize is that while sin is bad and will hinder us from fulfilling the will of God, the weights we carry in our life can hinder us just as much as sin can. 

It is easy to realize that robbery and murder are bad, but what about bitterness and lying?  Bitterness and lying can be weights in our life.  We could also spend an excessive amount of time on social media, watching movies, television, or sports and that can be a weight in our life.  These types of things are not really bad in themselves, but too much of them can become a problem.  We all need to examine our lives, and allow God to show us if we have any extra weights in our life that we need to get rid of, so that we can run the race that God has called us to.