1 Corinthians 9:24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
We live in a world where everybody thinks Darwin calls the shots. So when we read a verse like this, it is easy to see in it an endorsement for the very worst sort of sectarianism. “Only a few really pure people are going to make it, so don’t hang around with those losers over there. Be righteous and keep away from any such distracting scum.” The trouble is, that was the ethic of Pharisaism, not Christianity. So we cannot place competition at the heart of Christianity, except in one sense. There is one person you are absolutely required to defeat: you. Your competition is to run the race so that your flesh and all the desire to be Top Dog, Number One, and the Superstar are utterly defeated so that God will be first in your life. Do that, and Jesus himself assures you that God will reward and exalt you in ways that you cannot imagine. This does not mean making yourself a doormat or a dart board. Nor does it mean pretending to be stupid when you are smart, pretending to be a klutz when you are graceful, nor pretending to be untalented when you are gifted. But it does mean keeping all your gifts in perspective and remembering they are gifts and are meant to be used to love God and your neighbor, not accrue self-adoration and pride. Win in that competition and you will win eternal laurels.
