(This is a continuation of my last blog – part 1.  We are discussing strategies for winning based on 1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

3. AIM CLEARLY (vs. 26)

            Paul says, “I run in such a way as not without aim.”  I saw a lady in a track meet win her race by several yards but be disqualified because she ran out of her lane for a period.  It is too easy to be distracted, to be unclear about what really matters, to miss the importance of commitment and sacrifice, or to forget that trying too many things is at least as bad in its outcome as trying too few things.  These kinds of things disqualify too many.  Aim means the eliminating of everything but the objective of your aim.  Are there a few things at which you are aiming?  What strategy are you employing to reach them?  Is your aim and strategy in writing? (It should be.)  Is it clear and really important to you? (It should be.)  How about to others?  To try too little is to guarantee a small outcome. To try everything is to guarantee that you will do nothing well.  Aim in order to win.

4. GIVE UP THE RIGHT TO FEEL GOOD IN THE SHORT TERM (vs. 27)

            It’s a sad part of the human condition that we let happiness matter more to us than winning.  Look at the face of the man who scores the winning touchdown.  Happy?  You bet.  Look at that same face when he’s been at practice for two hours in the hot sun and his coach is in his face yelling at him.  Happy?  Not at all.  Yet without paying the price of seemingly thankless preparation, he would not have won.  All the most important things in life require not just self-discipline but self-sacrifice.  That’s the point of verse 27.  Want a great marriage when you’re 60?  Self-sacrifice will be required now.  Want great kids when they’re 35?  More self-sacrifice.  Want great standing when you retire among your peers?  More self-sacrifice.  You have to be prepared to sacrifice good feelings, relaxation, and contentment in the present to be able to win at something in the future.  Nobody gets to the Promised Land on an escalator.  Everybody has to walk over sharp rocks at times.  Part of getting there is being willing to pay that price.

            I hope this helps in your developing a winning strategy.

            No one can win at everything nor can anyone win all the time at anything.  But everyone can plan to win. You could substitute the word “succeed” for the word “win” and the above sentence would have similar truth, but maybe you would feel it was more applicable.  That’s what Paul is getting at in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.  A study of that text is a pretty good way to develop a winning strategy.

1. DEVELOP YOUR LIFE AROUND THE DESIRE TO SUCCEED/WIN ( vs. 24)

                       Paul contrasts the “also ran” with the “really ran.”  Some enter a race just to get a   t-shirt; others to win.  It’s the “really ran” that Paul commends.  It’s not winning that is commended but the intent to win and running in such a way that you can win.  There are races that are purely optional.  Nobody has to play golf, and some of the happiest golfers I know don’t care whether they win or not.  However, when you get married, have a child, take a job, or become a Christian, your “just    finishing” is not an option.   You need to succeed at these big things in life and you can do it, but it starts by saying to yourself, “I will not be an ‘also ran.’ I want to learn to win at this.”

2. CONTROL YOURSELF (vs. 25)

             Paul says the Christian life is about eternity, so we should be at least as determined as a man who wants a trophy, gold medal, or check.  This verse commends “self-control.”  This is a concept many skip, but no one who wins     skips it.  I see people fail at self-control because they would rather feel good now or they would rather shift the responsibility to an accountability partner.  You can often find such a person who will “hold you accountable,” but if you want to win,  you must learn to take that responsibility yourself.  To be sure, we all have periods when an accountability partner is essential and important, but most of the time it’s like having somebody else do your homework.  If you expect your wife  to see to it that you become a good husband or father or your husband to see to it that you become a good wife or mother, you are shirking your responsibility and diminishing your chance of success.  So if you need an accountability partner in     the short-term for some special need, God bless you for doing what it takes.  But God expects “SELF-control” of His people, and if you’re going to win at any important aspect of your life, it is an essential element.

(to be continued)