Mario Andretti, IndiCar, F1, and the Twelve Apostles
A while ago I watched the Formula 1 races again (go Max!) and I was a bit disillusioned. Yes, Max Verstappen won, but still…
As a little boy, I grew up with Niki Lauda (F1) and Mario Andretti (IndyCar) and they were huge heroes for me as a child. The fire in him when he was racing!
They put everything aside, they used everything for that one goal (winning) and also knew that they could pay the ultimate price (death on the racetrack) for that one goal.
And of course I also played with racing cars as a child, and they also had to endure a lot. Mario Andretti, Niki Lauda, FULL power! They were fully focused, every second of the race, their entire lives revolved around it, there were literally no limits to what they did for this goal: winning.
But now I watched Formula 1 again. Everything was just way too perfect, down to the last words in a press conference, already thought out in advance, yes, it is still about winning, but still… the real fire, the reason that someone wanted to win and that you did everything for it at all(!) costs (with all the associated risks) it seems to be gone? The race these days depends on rules, everything is planned down to the last second and if someone goes over it by a fraction of a second, there will immediately be trouble. Lawsuits, annoying reports in the press, politics, politics, is that still sport? Not anymore, in my opinion. The fire has been suffocated, the love is gone, it is about something different from what it was about at the time when I was younger.
That reminded me of Paul, who also did something with a race:
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Hebrews 12:1 (The whole chapter is great to be honest)
That Paul did go full throttle! He knew very well that the “sport” he did entailed enormous risks, but that did not deter him from his Goal. On the contrary. That Paul really did everything to reach the finish line, every second went into it, all his money, no compromise. Nothing. Because he knew what the prize was that he would get if he won that “race”. No matter how long that match lasted, no matter how much he had to travel for it, everything, absolutely everything, was put aside for His purpose.
And then I got a little sad. Not just disillusioned as at the Formula 1 races, but worse. Because when I look around me, I miss that fire when I see a lot of people “participating” in the race towards The Goal. (whatever that goal is) It’s all very “premeditated”. It has already been planned down to the very last second what we are going to do, and if we miss even a little bit, we there is the complaining. If even a lamp is crooked, there is a committee that will see if we can do it differently, and we will have plenty of meetings about that and put the rules on paper. It all looks very slick, but I miss the fire.
Why don’t we go FULL throttle anymore, don’t we really fight to be the winner anymore? Why have rules and pre-arranged press conferences become more important than the goal: winning. Yes, it’s all nice and safe, but are we still racing? Can it still cost us everything? Is it still OK that it is actually costs us everything, or do we choose a safe life? Where we be fine with just finishing…
I sometimes feel lonely during the race we run and have the feeling that I am alone in a battle that is really about death and life. Where you can’t relax for a single second, or otherwise you’ll die. We give everything to it on this side of the globe, it costs us everything, but sometimes I feel very lonely in that. Does the rest of the world still understand what it’s really about?
I always thought that verse in Revelation 3:15-18 was tough, even harsh, and I didn’t understand where the writer’s frustration came from. But slowly, but surely, I am starting to understand those harsh words of that author:
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
Revelation 3:15-18
Dear reader, if you have a good goal in mind, then, please: really go for it and FULL throttle. Don’t do something “half” and count every second. Come on, it can be quite lonely on this side of the globe sometimes, and we would love to see more fellow fighters who, like Paul, go FULL blast. Whatever it costs, all the way. I am sometimes deeply ashamed of fellow fighters who say they are fighting, but in reality are… lukewarm. And that hurts. Because The Goal deserves better. Way better.
Are we still willing to pay the price to win THE race? Or are we “just playing the game”, sort of… maybe tomorrow… just a little?
