Truth

It's been some time since my last post. A lot has changed- I went from being a single man coaching full time, to a married man only coaching a couple classes a week. I stopped lifting for multiple hours a day, and now am content to just do the normal CrossFit classes with my wife. Along with my drastic lifestyle change came a renewed perspective on CrossFit and my faith.

For the longest time, I was under the impression that my job as a coach was to inspire, instruct, and encourage. While this is all true, something I often overlooked was telling people hard truths. For example, I can't tell you how many of my female clients want to be able to do a strict (or kipping, for that matter) pull up. Old Haden would have given them all kinds of technique tips, encouraged the heck out of them, told them of a couple of supplemental exercises, and sent them on their merry way. Now that I only have 2 or so hours every week to make an impact on my athletes, there is no time for that kind of fluff- I have to be more direct. The truth of the matter was that many of them just need to lose excess body fat (dead weight) and get a stronger upper body. There really is just no way around it- doing a pull up is easier when you weight 130 than it is when you weigh 160. To be honest, I just didn't have the heart to tell people this harsh reality though.

In neglecting to tell them what their real problem was, I not only stunted their growth, but concealed the truth from them. In a way, it was deceptive. I gave them a false hope that doing enough ring rows and banded pull ups was the solution, when in reality it was only a part (indeed a very small part) of the solution. I have made a more conscious effort to tell people the loving, but honest truth lately, and the results have been interesting.

What I have come to see is that people love it. Often times, they are initially defensive. Our pride wants us to think that we are better than we are. But once we can take an honest look at ourselves in the mirror, we not only realize what real truth is, but that real truth is loving, and the concealing of truth is not. This is what makes truth so attractive. Like flies to a light bulb, we flock to it, sometimes unknowingly. It draws us in. We can't help it- we all want truth!

Some of the most truthful men I know are the men that I find myself most drawn to. A few brothers in particular stand out- men who will just tell it like it is. They are not ashamed to be frank, but they also do not use their brashness as a license for being rude. Their truth is always wrapped in love, and in a desire to see me or whoever they are around bettered. I often don't get it at first, and sometimes hearing truth about myself frustrates me, but one thing I know is that I am always appreciative of it after spending some time pondering it, and I am irresistibly drawn to it. There is a cool story in the bible that reflects this-

"When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him." - Mark 6:20

Herod didn't understand John, yet for whatever reason, he was drawn to him because John was a man that walked with God intimately and was not afraid to share His truth, even if it was counter-cultural or controversial. We are wired this way. It's unavoidable. I have been amazed lately as I look around at how many of my unbelieving family and friends are so drawn to Christ-followers around them. I don't think they could put words to it, but there is something magnetic about a man or woman who is living a life that is wrapped in truth and it's proclamation. I believe that this is because we are ultimately drawn to Christ, who is the manifestation of truth.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life" -John 14:6.

Seek truth, and know that truth has a name- Jesus. Hopefully it won't be another year before I write another one of these.