11. It Takes Practice
"What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:9 ESV). Ask any athlete, ask any warrior, ask anyone who had to train in order to learn to do something – even after the training is over, the practicing continues. Most initial training is done by watching or listening to those who are competent in the skill we need to learn (as we saw in Chapter 3). After that we learn by practicing the skill ourselves. Spiritual training is no different. We train to learn what it is we need to do, but knowing the right way isn't always the same as doing it. That takes practice.
It's ironic, but true (as even the ancient philosopher Aristotle remarked), that the things that have to be learned before we can do them, we learn by doing them! Spiritually, we develop the ability to do the right thing through doing the right thing. We learn to apply the lessons we have learned from the examples we have followed; and as we practice doing what is right, it becomes second nature to us. In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis gave an example of this regarding Christian love:
"Do not waste time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him."
The truth Lewis touched on in these words is simply that of practice. The apostle Peter also talked about going beyond our initial commissioning and training and developing the Christian qualities we need by simply doing them: "Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall" (2 Peter 1:10 ESV).
The word "practice" that Peter used is the Greek word poieo which can also mean to "make," "produce" or "construct," because the basic idea is that of producing something that wasn't there before. The more we practice, the more the desired trait comes into being and becomes a reality.
This fact applies in every area of the Christian life – which is why the author of the Book of Hebrews tells us that those who become spiritually mature must "… have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil" (Hebrews 5:14 ESV). In fact, the beloved disciple John even put it this way: "…let no one deceive you; whoever practices righteousness is righteous…" (1 John 3:7 ESV). If we aren't practicing what we know to be right, we may be warming a seat in church, but we aren't going anywhere.
That is what the apostle Paul told his protégé Timothy: "Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress" (1 Timothy 4:15 ESV). If we want to see real progress in our spiritual lives – if we want to reach the level where we become active warriors of the Way – that is the answer for us, also. Training must always be followed by practice – and practice must be followed by more practice!