You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize… So let us run the race that is set before us and never give up -1 Corinthians 9:24; Hebrews 12:2, NCV. 

Everyone in the Human Race (if you like) is in one kind of race or the other. All are not athletes, but all run. On second thoughts, some are just taking a walk, while others are in ‘looking-mode’ on life’s pathways. Just like what David’s brother accused him of, “…you just came to look!” (1 Samuel 17:28b). Thankfully, David proved the accusation to be false. Anyway, I believe that you are not one of life’s onlookers. 

Some time ago, I read the book “Man in the Mirror,” written by Patrick Morley. Every male who is becoming a man; every male who is a man; every man who wants to be great; and every male who is not sure he is a male (sadly, the numbers of these are swelling) but wants to be sure about who he is, should read this book. 

Also, every woman worthy of the designation should read it. And for all married men, please follow the advice of R. C. Sproul, who wrote the forward to the book: “Make sure you read it before your wife grabs a copy of it, and reads it.” 

In this book, Morley describes the Rat Race as “The pursuit of this beautiful wrinkle-free life”: A lifestyle and image that is a media-generated artificial standard of living. It is a compromised life of chasing dreams at the expense of the most important values and relationships in one’s life. It is a pursuit that produces enormously depressing anxiety and debt pressure for many. 

In the Rat Race, life is a constant competition of striving to outdo the Joneses. Brothers and sisters, are you there? Let’s tell ourselves the truth. The Joneses care less if you are slapping coal tar (one of my high school slangs for trekking) or driving a Hummer. It makes no difference to them. They’ll be ready any day to shed crocodile tears when you are six feet below the earth’s surface and then go on as though you never existed. 

It’s a worldly standard, and the struggle is to impress others. “Everybody is doing it,” is one cliché that make a strong pull. Christians are not immune and often fall into the trap. Yes, it is a trap because the end is dead. It’s a cliff. 

Ask the millionaires and other people who are been overtaking by depression and some committing suicide around the world because of the present global economic meltdown. 

In the home of one of my brothers, they have four dogs. All are males. One of them is a Doberman; the other is an Alsatian; the third is a cross between a German shepherd and only God knows what! And the fourth? Hmm! O well, let’s just call it a dog. After all, a dog is a dog!

The Alsatian is the largest, followed by the Doberman. Between these two, there are sometimes fierce battles for turf control. It is a do-or-die affair, as a former Nigerian president put it concisely. They go for each other’s jugular, its like judgment day. In the end, the battle is often followed by the vet’s call. In real life, it is sometimes by the undertakers call. 

In one of these turf battles, I was involved (Hey, hey, no funny ideas, I was not fighting with the dogs, just trying to separate them!), and in the process, my eyes met with the Alsatian’s. It’s usually gentle eyes were ablaze. I had to take courage. You know, as the saying goes, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but in facing it.” You did not hear me say I was scared, did you? 

It’s all about turf control. Dog-eat-dog! That is the system of the Dog Race. It is the Rat Race turned to dogs. It is a bitter battle for domination on the socio-economic and political turfs; it’s a “fight to finish”. Climb the backs of everyone to the top. Gore every ox, no matter who owns them. “You would hurt people”. That is for religious bigots! 

However, there is the Faith race, in which Paul, the great apostle of faith and patience, admonishes us to “run to win”. In this race your competition is you. Your family (and even your health) is not paying the price, but you discipline yourself to be the best you can be: what God wants you to be in all spheres of your life. 

Being here means you are, and you remain, one indivisible integral whole. You are the same, be it in the home place, the social place, the market place, or the church place, you are single, you are complete. What you are here is what you are there. No duplicity. 

And yes, the race is not a 100 metre dash. It is a cross-country marathon. So the track is sometimes dusty and sometimes mired, and the view can be hazy. What is more, you are not perfect, so you sometimes stumble and fall, but then you rise again, brush off the dust, yes, brush off the dust and continue the race. Your race! 

The success of others does not diminish you but motivates you. You are not green with envy but radiant with joy unspeakable and full of glory. So you press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

When the apostle Paul finished the Faith Race, he humbly declared, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now is a crown being held for me– a crown for being right with God. The Lord, the judge who judges rightly, will give the crown to me on that day. Not only to me but to all those who have waited for him to come again (2 Tim 4:7-8, NCV).

In what race are you? If you are not in the Faith Race, it is time to get on board. However, if you are, the encouragement is that you will keep running the race set before you, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith.” However, if you have fallen along the way, let these words of mine be an extension of my hands to help you up.        

You are not a loser because you have fallen down or because you are facing serious challenges in life, so you do not have to stay down and quit the race. Nevertheless, if you have quit, you can get back in the race again. 

There are still eternal values and virtues of integrity, kindness, love, mercy, respect and so on, that make life meaningful. 

Yes, you may not gain the whole world, but you would achieve success at fulfilling God’s plan and purpose for your life, but it would not be at the expense of your soul. That’s my prayer for you. 

Thank you. Do not forget to keep Living, Loving and Learning.

 

 

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