Episode 415: I’m Talkin…Disqualified

I’m talking episode 415 for March 29th, 2026.

This is Joel from the I’m Talking microcast, where I share my thoughts on a topic that has piqued my interest this past week.

This week, we’re talking disqualified.

Disqualified is, I guess, a fairly known word used in a lot of different instances, but I think it leads to some disappointment, maybe some frustration, especially if you’re looking forward to maybe performing in an event or doing some type of service or being able to provide something for somebody else, and then all of a sudden you find yourself disqualified.

Looking at the definition, it says, not able to perform because of an offense or infringement.

And sometimes that does rely on us in the performance of something that we did.

Sometimes it may feel a little bit out of our control, like not sure what we did to get disqualified.

And then on top of that, it just is such a downer because at the end, it means we’re unsuitable for the task at hand.

And therein lies the challenge for those of us who call ourselves Christians.

Today’s word comes from 1 Corinthians 9, verses 26 and 27, that says, I run with purpose in every step.

I am not just shadowboxing.

I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.

Otherwise, I fear, after preaching to others, I might find myself disqualified.

Looking at the context of this verse, Paul is really talking about his life in ministry.

It talks about preaching to others.

It talks about a position of authority.

And that carries some weight.

I think there’s a number of verses, not think, I know there are a number of verses in the Bible that talk about church leaders and what their lives need to be like.

They are held to a different standard.

And even though there is forgiveness for offense, if there’s also a potential restoration, there’s often no path back to being the head pastor of a church if you have been disqualified.

But don’t think you’re off the hook if you’re a layperson.

As a layperson, we have a ministry as well.

We have a witness to others.

And if we aren’t taking the truth of these two verses of not just shadowboxing, but training like an athlete to make our bodies do what they should, to lean into what God wants us to be like, we cannot be perfect.

We understand that.

We’re forgiven just like everybody else.

However, for our witness to be effective, we can’t live like everybody else.

We have to live above.

And we have the power of the Holy Spirit to make that happen because that is what God wants from us.

And how do we do that?

It’s just like Paul said, I’m not just shadowboxing.

I discipline my body like an athlete training it to do what it should.

That is the focus.

That is the act.

That is the thing that we do as Christians so as not to ruin our witness for Jesus Christ.

Until next week, this is Joel from the I’m Talking Microcast.