A View From a Pew “This Ain’t the Ring—This Is the Corner”

A View From A Pew This Aint The Ring This Is The Corner

0:00

/163.389524

1×

As I sat listening to the message Sunday, I looked around the sanctuary at all of the people gathered and I thought, why do people come to church?

I started equating the church with boxing. And then it hit me. The church is not the ring. It’s the corner.

People don’t come to church to be talked down to. They don’t come to be looked at sideways, judged, or whispered about. They come to church to get straight… so they can get back in the ring.

Life—that’s the ring. That’s where the fight is. The struggle is real, and it’s out there—on the job, in the home, in the streets, in our minds, in our marriages, in our finances, and sometimes even in our own flesh.

So when we step into the sanctuary, we’re not there to spar. We’re there to recover. The church is the corner, and in every fight worth winning, the corner matters.

Just like a boxer comes off the ropes—bloodied, weary, and worn—we come through those doors bruised by betrayal, battered by burdens, and exhausted from trying to just make it through the week.

And when we do, we don’t need drama—we need direction. We don’t come to be picked apart—we come to be poured into. We don’t need judgment—we need Jesus.

Luke 5:3 tells us Jesus sat down and taught the people from the boat before He worked a miracle. Instruction came before inspiration. Before He multiplied their fish, He multiplied their understanding.

That’s what the corner does. It prepares you before you go back into the ring.

Because the shout at 11:00 only has power if you’ve learned something by the time you leave there. A shout without knowledge is just noise. But a praise backed by truth? That’s spiritual warfare.

The pulpit is not a platform for personal therapy—it’s the trainer’s stool. It’s where leaders wrap your wounds, wipe your brow, and remind you, "You’ve still got fight left in you."

I don't know about you but I don’t come to church to play—I come to prepare. I don’t come to throw punches—I come to catch my breath. This is where I get my spirit checked, my soul lifted, my heart mended. This is where I get bandaged, built up, and believed in.

Because once I step back into the ring, life will swing again.

It’ll come with disappointment. It’ll jab with grief. It’ll uppercut your joy and try to knock out your peace. So don’t waste my corner time. Don’t preach to impress me—preach to equip me. Don’t sing to showcase—sing to strengthen.

This ain’t the ring. This is the corner. And I’m just trying to make it to the next round.