Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Spiritual lessons from BJJ



"If I tap, I start again in 3 seconds. If I don't, I start again in 3 months." 
~ Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy 

I am sincere believer that in our spiritual lives we sometimes need to tap out and admit we've been defeated so we can get back to our feet and start again. Sometimes we just miss the mark and fall short in our spiritual journey--too often we try and hide that fact. When we hide it, when we fail to admit that we are in a bad position, we are at great danger of putting ourselves in a worse position where we will incur severe damage and set our journey back a great deal.


The greatest example of this is King David. If he had simply admitted he was lusting after Bathsheba, he would have encountered a lot less grief. However, let us even say he had the affair--if he had admitted his failure then and not tried to cover it up he would still have encountered a lot less grief. In King David's case lusting put him on the slippery slope to murder all because he was too tough to tap out and admit defeat to his lustful desires.


We are a culture that likes to express toughness. I can do it, I can fight through this, I can make this right, etc... There is nothing wrong with tapping out, admitting defeat, getting on your feet and continuing the journey.