One of the first things many young women have to do when embarking on a career in corporate America is to learn a new language--the language of metaphors from the world of sports--metaphors like "swing for the fences," "full-court press," "knock-out punch," etc. Let's face it. Men, for the most part, talk about sports. Surely you've read Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. Men talk about sports; women talk about relationships. At least, that's what the experts say.

The Apostle Paul was a man. And so he occasionally used language from the world of sports. Consider our text from his letter to Timothy: "Fight the good fight," he says. Now that wouldn't be an extraordinary remark, except that most early Christians were pacifists. They refused to fight. They took their Lord literally when…