Running with Righteousness the Race set before
“I just really enjoy doing it, competition is one factor, but I could drop that at any point and just run for fun. It’s really just something that my soul yearns for you could say.” Most people don’t have the mindset of running just to run. Runners are a unique athlete because there isn’t really a goal or score that tells you who wins or not. It’s just that you against yourself, the clock, and other runners no more no less. This is the story of Joey running with righteousness.
Joey’s journey in running all began in 7th grade. There he ran with a very fast and talented runner who ended up as an all American his senior year and eventually went on to run for D1 in college. His name was Isaac Basten. “He ran with me in 7th grade, 8th grade he got moved up to high school. So, I was the sole runner and the top runner left. There was still a team, but they were a little way behind”.
“Coming into high school I was the top middle school runner and was in a good position to move to varsity right away. I did get placed in varsity right away. We finished low in the conference either third or fourth. Then my Sophomore year we started to get on our winning streak. We finished second and qualified for States as a team. Junior year we finished first and I ran as an alternate. Junior and senior year we finished first in sectionals which are right before the state competition in Minnesota. We usually choked or messed up at State.”
Background
Joey grew up in the church and had always been around Christianity. However, he did not make a true proclamation of faith until early high school. “It really all came to my Sophomore year I’d say. I was running one day, you know dumb runners we saw a great big box of things. We were carrying all this stuff to go prank our coach, and I carried a very heavy door with one of my other teammates. We put all this stuff in his car. After we finished, I was having chest pains and I could barely walk”.
“Immediately I went to the trainer, my coach helped me there. I didn’t have a license at that time, so my mom came and got me. I just shrugged it off like it was nothing. The next day running it started again went to the hospital. They said it was basically a heart attack. That was scary as there was basically a lot of tests during that time. I was out a very significant amount of time that season. The whole experience really showed me that my running wasn’t in the right place, I wasn’t trying to glorify God through it.”
Running for himself not running with righteousness
“I was just running for the things I wanted for the world, for materialistic things, and trying to win. It wasn’t a deep-hearted passion or connection. Given that time to reflect was great. I hated having that injury and it set me back that whole season, but I think it was good looking back at it. The doctors never figured out what happened. They kind of shook it off as it would probably never happen again. It brought me back to my roots.” At that time Joey was not running with righteousness.
Most people think of running as an individual sport. In Track and Field maybe, but in Cross Country running that is not true. Every runner has a purpose, a position they need to take, and a place they need to finish in. If one part of any runner’s race doesn’t work the whole team will be affected.
“Running it is a real sport and I wouldn’t have qualified for any state meet if it weren’t for my team coming in at first. It’s both individual and team-oriented which is such a cool combination you have to embrace to do anything.”
Running with righteousness
Taking it to the next level is something that someone must dedicate their life to in running. When asked if he would go in that direction Joey simply stated, “At this point, I am not going to run professionally. I already ran above my level in running for a D2 program. I wasn’t the fastest guy out of high school, coming out with a 17-minute flat 5k”.
“I thought I needed a team that could push me in running and really take it to that next level in college, so I started running at Lynn University. I’m getting into hobby running whether that’s triathlons, (I love swimming), or maybe I’ll run in a marathon. I’m a distance guy, 10K runner, so it can easily translate into longer distance running. We’ll see what God has in store for me.”
Most people have a favorite game or time in a sport that they can recall from there past. For Joey, it was the regional race where he ran his fastest times. “It was outside our normal season for high school, our school didn’t pay for it, and we traveled on our own with teammates. We always had a group of us that were really dedicated who’d head down there and race. We stayed in the hotel room the night before and the team bonded the whole time. The race was only the people who really cared.”
More than one sport
Joey was a multi-sport kind of guy. From baseball to football to karate to soccer Joey tried it all. “I never loved any of those sports, my parents encouraged me to be there, but it was usually a one-year two-year thing. I did soccer recreationally a couple of years, but it never turned into anything. I didn’t find passion in it, I didn’t really enjoy doing it. Running was the one thing I could do individually and find passion in.”
Many Christians struggle in the sports world due to the worldliness of it. Joey gave his advice on how to deal with persecution, “It’s standing your ground is what matters. When somebody is making comments against you views you need to do something, if you’re not willing to say something right away that’s fine, but either talking to them after or defending your views right away is what you need to do.”
The sin of lust
Of course, we all sin and fall short, and Joey bases his testimony on a sin that all men and women both struggle with: lust. “A lot of my life has been struggling with lust, that was kind of one of my big things in early high school. It derailed me, that’s why I said I wasn’t even close to the faith. I was on a track down a hill. Overall, it comes down to having the right community and having the right mentorship. Later in high school, I had a great mentor and friend who struggled with lust also. It really helped me fight the battle when someone was fighting with me.”
“We were always there for each other. it’s about finding the right people who can go through the fight with you. I’ve read so much on the topic and there are so many different views on eliminating it, but what it comes down is there’s a hole and you need to fill it with something and that’s God. It’s easy to say, but it’s actually hard to do.”
Community is key
When asked how you fight against lust Joey simply stated, “So, obviously the first thing is having a community. I didn’t find my accountability partner, he found me. It’s first being open about it. Originally I was in a small group and I was really struggling with it at the time and I was open about my struggle.”
“I said: I need a lot of prayer and accountability for this. It took a lot of courage to say that, but then I believe it was the next week after one of the guys wanted to talk to me. He just opened and said it was a real struggle for him too. That was awesome because I had been praying for quite a while to have an accountability partner so that was a direct answer to my prayers.”
Fight the good fight
“Besides finding a community, you need to be on it yourself. There’s a program I like to use called Fortify. It allows you to track lustful thoughts and finding triggers. Because if you know that you can’t be alone at X time or something is going to happen, you can prevent it. That way that neural pathway doesn’t have a chance to connect.”
This is not only for the believer but the unbeliever as well, “I don’t think you can do it alone, for killing sin in your life, you know that’s tough. There are actually a lot of non-Christians who hate lust and pornography which is amazing in its own way.”
All in all, we all struggle with sin and running our lives with righteousness. Men or women cannot escape the inevitable that they will meet lustful thoughts and desires. How do you combat this sin? How can we be running with righteousness from a sin the enemy uses so frequently? Email me at zevans1@fau.edu if you have further questions or want someone to talk to.
