DAY #254: 1 Corinthians 9:15-10:5

Paul’s goals were to glorify God and to bring people to Christ. Thus he stayed free of any philosophical position or material entanglement that might sidetrack him while he strictly disciplined himself to carry out his goals. For Paul, both freedom and discipline were important tools to be used in God’s service. Paul never compromised the doctrines of Scripture, never changed God’s word in order to make it more palatable to people in any given place.

He chose to find common ground with everyone in order that some might be saved. Paul never compromised the gospel truth, God’s law, or his own conscience; in other matters, however, Paul was willing to go to great lengths to meet people where they were. He had one focus: to spread the Good News. Paul’s life focused on taking the gospel to an unbelieving world.

Paul compared this to a race, picturing the ancient “games.” The Olympics were already operating in Paul’s time. Second in popularity only to the Olympic games, the Isthmian games were celebrated every two years at Corinth. Athletes would come from all over Greece, and the winners of the games were accorded the highest honor.

To get into the games, and especially to emerge as victors, required that athletes practice strict self-control. Typically, for ten months prior to the games, the athletes-in-training denied themselves many ordinary pleasures. Each put forth his greatest effort during the contest, setting aside all else in order to win the prize.

When Paul told the believers to be like those athletes, he did not mean that the believers were all running against each other with only one actually winning. Instead, he wanted every believer to run in such a way that you will win. In other words, every believer should be putting out the kind of effort for the reward of God’s Kingdom that an athlete puts out to merely win a wreath. Believers, therefore, ought to willingly practice self-control with a focus on bringing others to Christ because they are running toward an eternal prize.



SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)

Lord, help us today to be men and women who bring honor and glory to you - in all we do. Win or lose, fall or fail - all glory to You. Help us to live that and model that for our kids. Help us to teach this to our kids. Wherever we are whatever we do - all for the glory of God.