Choose Quality over Quantity

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV

In an educational article posted by Runner’s World earlier this year, the writer addressed a question that many runners, especially new ones, have… “How many miles a week should I run if I’m training for a race?” And while the answer to that question must be individualized, has lots of variations and rules, the number 4 rule (a very important one in my opinion) listed was: Allow for adaptation when increasing mileage; something many runners fail to do. Regarding that, Melanie Kann, an RRCA-certified running coach gave this advice: Think about your runs in terms of quality over quantity, Kann says. “If you’re adding additional speed workouts to your week, you don’t want to run a super long run that weekend,” she says. “You’re just asking a lot of your body all in a short period of time.” Your body, on a microscopic level, is breaking down muscle tissue when you run, and it needs to time to rebuild (that’s how you get stronger).

And you know, this “quality over quantity” advice applies to more than just our physical training, it applies to our spiritual training as well. You see, the Bible calls us to show ourselves “approved unto God,” correctly interpreting “the word of truth,” unafraid of going against any person, pastor or group that claims their personal interpretation overrides what the Word says—something that is very important to do in the world we live in today and something that requires a person to thoroughly, prayerfully and diligently “study” the Word verse by verse and the Bible as a whole rather than rush through it as to check it off our to-do list. The person who does this then will have no need to “be ashamed” on the day they stand before Jesus. 

So do what it takes to know the Word by studying it each and every day my friend. Because as Paul said, “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that we will be held accountable for wrongly “dividing the word of truth” and leading people astray. Lord, help us to hold fast to the correct interpretation of the Bible knowing that we will face opposition from those in the world who twist the truth to fit their agenda and their wicked lifestyles. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!