Neal Pollard
With the snowfall overnight, I chose to run on the treadmill at the gym. Over the course of a longer run it becomes necessary to find diversions. I spend a lot of time looking up at ESPN on the TV, I try to find music on my Ipod that keeps me pumped, and I people watch as they come into or leave the gym. Near the end of today’s run, I saw two women leave. One of them hopped into her car and lit up a cigarette. Here in the rarified air of Colorado, after a workout, that seemed like a baffling move. How could one dirty their lungs after exercising presumably strenuously in the supposed motivation of improving the health? It will give me plenty to ponder as I eat a bowl of Blue Bell tonight.
Seriously, it is an eye-opening illustration of ways we often shoot ourselves in the feet. We pray, maybe fervently, for wisdom, then we turn around and speak or act without restraint and self-control. We attend church services out of a love for the Lord but also a conviction that it will make us spiritually stronger, then we leave and may find ourselves thinking, talking, or acting in ways that displease the Lord. We sing “Purer in Heart, O God” and “Nearer, Still Nearer,” then we allow our hearts and minds to drift far from Him for the next several days. We all must guard against our own version of the “after-workout smoke.”
It is imperative that we partner our prayers, Bible study, worship, service, and other Christian duties with transformation. These exercises are divinely designed to draw us closer to Christ, to make a difference in who we are, and to produce a better us. Perhaps it is after we have engaged in them that we need to be most vigilant to guard against spiritual laxity and laziness. I enjoy the many spiritual highs of Christian living, but I must realize that I can fall from those heights, too. So I pray, “Lord, keep me from spiritual letdowns.” Let me be steady and strong, and let me build wisely off of those spiritual highs!
The Preacher Pollard Blog 
Good message Bro. Pollard.
Love this Neal, what and awesome illustration!
Great article Neal. Also great illustration. Reminds me that we must always keep our eyes open in our daily lives for illustrations such as the one you gave.