I was a high school sophomore awaiting surgery to repair torn cartilage in my knee. In walked a young orderly with a razor to shave my leg. Before long, the blood began to flow. He was unskilled, and his razor was dull. Fortunately, the next day was different. The surgeon was skilled, and his scalpel was sharp.
 
Surgery is always painful, but its purpose is to heal. To be successful, the surgeon must be skilled. I once saw a documentary on a surgical technique to reduce an enlarged heart. The surgeon literally sliced off a quarter of the heart and sewed it back together, where upon it began beating again! Would you want a medical intern doing such a procedure? I think not.
 

A while ago I went on a training run with my wife to get ready for my first 5k race in over a year. It felt great to get back out on the road, and the run was pretty uneventful.

Later that night, we headed to a friend's house, and when I looked down, panic set in. My wedding ring was missing from my hand. I checked my pockets; nothing. I quietly walked outside to retrace my steps, and still nothing. When was the last time I'd had it? How could I lose the one thing that symbolized this important commitment in my life?

During our training run the weather had been cool, my hands sweaty. Somewhere, during the four miles of sidewalks, intersections and city streets, my wedding ring had slipped off.

Years ago Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath guaranteed that his underdog New York Jets were going to beat the powerful Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl … and wouldn’t you know … they did it! But since that time there have been many athletes and coaches who have guaranteed a win and it didn’t turn out that way. Why? Nothing on this planet is truly guaranteed. As a matter of fact, there are very few real guarantees in life. Even when you purchase something that is guaranteed, that doesn’t mean it’s going to work forever. It just means that when it breaks, the guarantor will fix or replace it.

In sports, every time we compete there’s the possibility of defeat as well as the opportunity for victory. So much would be lost in this world if throughout history, people had succumbed to their fear of defeat and not fought for what they believed. Yet the possibility of defeat often keeps us from  fighting, from moving toward what we desire and believe.

As a defensive player in soccer, I often hear the phrase: "When in doubt, kick it out." In soccer, if you mess around with the ball in the back, it can result in a point for the opposing team. And that is bad! So, when a ball comes to those of us on defense and we are unsure whether or not we have time to pass it, we kick it out.

In life, we sometimes have things that we think might be impure, but we are not really sure, so we keep them in our lives. Keeping impure things in our lives, however, separates us from God and hurts our witness.