Never Rest on Your Laurels

DON'T REST ON YOUR LAURELS
In the Greek games of the ancient world, the victor was crowned with a laurel wreath. But the winner could not "rest on his laurels" if he wanted to remain a champion. Every athlete learns this truth from experience. A sure and quick way to go downhill from the peak of performance is to stop training when the race or season is over and just rest on past accomplishments.
The importance of not resting on your laurels is also relevant in the spiritual realm. Basking in the glories of past spiritual victories can lead to spiritual defeat because our spiritual battles never stop. Relaxing when we have reached plateaus of spiritual growth can spell disaster because standing still will lead to spiritual atrophy. We must press on and never rest on our laurels in this life. The time for resting is in heaven when we finally hear the Savior say, "Well done."
The principle of "don't rest on your spiritual laurels" is clearly taught in the second half of the book of Nehemiah. The first half of Nehemiah (chapters 16) is about the physical rebuilding of the wall around the ancient city of Jerusalem under the leadership of Nehemiah. The second half of the book (chapters 713), is about the spiritual rebuilding of the people through the continuing efforts of Nehemiah.
The events of the Book of Nehemiah took place in the 5th century BC--about 445 BC. Approximately 100 years before Nehemiah's time, the Jews were nearing the end of their 70 year exile in Babylon. They were in captivity because of their disobedience to the covenant that God had made with them. But God is gracious! In 539 BC, the Persians conquered the Babylonians and the Persian emperor, Cyrus, issued a decree of good will which permitted the captive Jews to return to their homeland if they so desired. About 50,000 Jews returned to Jerusalem in 538 BC. After some delay they rebuilt their temple which had been destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. The rebuilt temple was...