Running rules

I’m not a runner.  (I’ve long said that my body is built for comfort, not speed!)

But there is a kind of running that I must do and that all believers must do.  We run the race of the Christian life (1 Cor. 9:24-27) — that is, we labor and work in the Christian life as if we are in a race.

Note some key principles that Paul outlines in these verses:

• Run to win (v. 24).  In a track race, there is only one winner.  But in the spiritual life, many win.  Not all win (see v. 27), but many do.  Run in such a way that the Lord will declare you to have run well and to have won His prize.
• Run by exercising self-control (v. 25a).  Just as a physical runner is self-controlled and disciplined, so the spiritual runner cannot indulge any desire, but he must discipline himself to conform his desires to the Lord’s desires.
• Run to win a prize (v. 25b).  It is not mercenary to seek a reward from God.  It is foolish to pursue earthly rewards — as if spiritual service is ultimately for tangible prizes — but it is not foolish to pursue heavenly rewards.  In fact, it is a supremely wise pursuit to desire the blessings of God (which ultimately terminates in the reward of Himself to His people).  C. S. Lewis helps with understanding this concept, as does Paul (e.g., Phil. 3:7-12).
• Run purposefully (v. 26).  Why do you serve Christ?  Why do you labor in the church?  Why do you evangelize the unbelieving?  It would be tragic to conduct all our spiritual labors for the wrong reasons.  To have the wrong motive in our ministry and in our spiritual life will be to lose the blessing and reward for that service.  So remember why you run.  Considering the motive of Christ (which Paul would later echo in Phil. 3 and 2 Cor. 5:9) is helpful — we live and serve to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful slave,” at the end of the age (Mt. 25:21ff).
• Run to not be disqualified (v. 27).  The positive motive for Paul was to receive the prize of God (v. 25).  The negative motive is that he doesn’t want to be disqualified.  He doesn’t want to hear God say at the end, “you cheated by running in the wrong race, or taking spiritual shortcuts that did not honor me, or by exulting in yourself instead of delighting in me who gave you all your abilities…”  When you run, remember that there are ways to run that will leave you disqualified from reward; avoid those routes.