In the New Testament the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy his protege who he is training to be a Pastor, and in the second letter, chapter 2, verse 5 he says, “every athlete that competes in the games, competes according to the rules or he cannot win the prize”.  Watching the Olympics each evening often there are discussions about the rules for the various sports. A common rule that was discussed a lot before the Olympics even got started had to do with performance enhancing drugs. I still remember clearly how sad I felt when I heard that Lance Armstrong was being stripped of all his medals because of that rule violation. I wonder exactly what Paul had in mind and what he was saying to this young man who was aspiring to do great things with his life for God. “You can’t win the prize unless you compete according to the rules”. In our culture today many tend to think that they can decide on the rules that they will live life by. God is God and He is the Almighty and He does make the rules, and He does enforce the rules and He is the judge. All of God’s rules are designed to bring unity, joy, growth, and success. If we break them we will lose and not win. As I pursue the gold medal in life I work at learning the rules and living by them. I remind myself constantly that as I discover the rules of God they are for me to obey and follow, and to teach to those who want to know what they are, but never am I a judge, only God is. As I observe people living by their own rules and not God’s, my thought always needs to be, I wish I could help them so they could be happy and successful, never thinking that they are bad people.