Decathletes are often referred to as the “Greatest Athletes in the World” (apologies to elite Crossfitters, who are also very impressive). And the greatness of decathletes is their ability to excel at multiple events. They sprint, jump, hurdle, throw, and even briefly spelunk into the masochistic Pain Cave that us distance-runner types willingly enter on a daily basis. To become proficient at even ONE of these events requires an extraordinary amount of time, talent, and tenacity, and decathletes must be elite at TEN incredibly diverse disciplines. Whatever your best event, these obscenely gifted individuals are probably way better than you…and a lot of times while they are “resting” they are doing backflips or doing 360 degree windmill dunks on the basketball court…just because.

But for us mere mortals, we rarely can devote our energies to multiple tasks without experiencing diminishing returns. We get distracted by agendas, overwhelmed by initiatives, and frazzled by half-baked projects…and this saps our strength while detracting from our primary focus. It’s like trying to run a race in a spacesuit with an 80-pound backpack while partially blindfolded; it’s unlikely you’ll even finish, and if you do, it certainly won’t be worthy of any medals (aside from maybe a Participation Award or a trinket that generically acknowledges your existence).

We would be wise to heed the words of the great preacher Charles Spurgeon when it comes to our labors:

“Give your second-best never. Collect your thoughts, rally all your faculties, mass your energies, focus your capacities. Turn all the springs of your soul into one channel, causing it to flow onward in an undivided stream.”

Philippians 3:13-14