Stronger and Faster

Like many Americans, I’ve been watching some of the Olympic Games. You can’t help but be in awe of the athletes and their performances. Years and years of turmoil and sweat is poured into their lives as they hone and perfect their respective skills. The seconds and minutes that we see on television is merely a microcosm, just a glimpse, of the journey they had to take in order to compete in these Games.

One of these athletes is Michael Phelps, who if you haven’t heard of by now, it means you’ve been fasting all forms of media for the past month. I watched last night as he accomplished the seemingly impossible task of matching Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in a single Olympics. Michael Phelps already holds the record for most Olympic gold medals with thirteen. He’s been heralded by some as the greatest Olympian ever, and with thirteen gold medals to his credit, it’s hard to disagree.

However, there was something he said last night that grabbed my attention, and I’m positive he didn’t realize what it was he said. He and Mark Spitz were being interviewed by Bob Costas on NBC. The hot topic was Michael Phelps winning his seventh gold medal of this summer’s Olympics, and co-holder of the record, Mark Spitz, was asked to weigh in on this. I was working on the laptop, so I was barely listening, until Michael Phelps said:

Mark won seven…

This grabbed my attention, because at first I thought he said:

Mark 1:7

And I thought he was going to start quoting scripture. It only took me a few moment to understand what he really said, but it got me wondering what was written in Mark 1:7. So I did what any young, good-looking guy would do; I Googled it, and I discovered that it was in the middle of a sermon by John the Baptist, and this is what he said…

And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

For those who are not familiar with this text, John the Baptist is referring to Jesus Christ, and how is coming would surpass anything that John the Baptist did, no matter what wondrous or miraculous deeds he may have done. After letting it soak in my mind, I realize what a powerful statement that is, and how it applies to everything in life. In the Olympiad case, Mark Spitz broke someone’s record and held it for many years, but now he is being surpassed by Michael Phelps. Years from now, someone will surely break Michael Phelps’ record. So on and so forth. All is vanity. Etc.

This is something to bear in mind for anyone who is wishing to aspire to great things. That no matter how hard it may seem to accomplish your goals, all of man’s deeds can be topped or done better. Faster and stronger. On the other side of the coin, however, if you are one of those blessed ones who does something great, just remember that your deeds will be more than likely be outdone as well. It may five years, ten, fifty, or five hundred years(when I do something great, I’m hoping it will be five hundred years before it’s outdone; that way I won’t know about it or won’t care), nothing on this earth will last forever. For me, this makes it easier to enjoy life and recognize the things that are truly important.

Does this mean we shouldn’t aspire to great things? No. In fact, I think it helps us go further and push harder when we realize how brief and temporary things are.