When we lived in Jos, I had a mode of greeting, and for my folks then, it was more like a cliché. “How are you doing… how far; are we closer to where we are going or to where we are coming from?” This was the question I would ask greeting someone. The standard reply in most cases would be,” Oh, I am fine.” Some others would say “Fine! Not too far, but we will get there.”
On a particular day, I asked my son, he was about six years old then. And he replied, “I am fine, but I am closer to where I am coming from and you are closer to where you are going!” I am like, ‘Seriously!’ Well, that is life for you!
We all are in the race of life. Okay, some are just spectators, and for such, the allegation Eliab levelled against David, “…You just came to look,” would hold (1 Samuel 17:28). But that is not the way you are. You are actively involved in the race of life. Not being an onlooker, you want to win, not as first from behind or as the first loser, but at the top.
You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. So run to win! All those who compete in the games use self-control so they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time, but our crown will never be destroyed. So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something- not just the air. I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that I myself will not be disqualified -1 Corinthians 9:24-27, NCV.
The first thing you want to do in the race of life is to want to win! Not everyone wants to win. If you watch some of the athletes in International Athletic Games like the Olympics, you wonder what it is they are doing there. It is like they just came to show up. My people would say, they came to “mark present” that is they just came to append their names to the register and nothing else. These waste the time and resources of the countries that sent them. To win in life, you must want to win.
Secondly, athletes who want to win practise strict self-control. They do not eat, sleep or play anyhow they like. They place themselves on a stringent training regimen. They are on a mission. The keyword here is discipline. They must develop the requisite stamina, strength, mental capacity and skill to be on top of their game. I believe that is where you want to be.
It was Jim Rhone who said, “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”
I developed the thought a little further to say, ‘If you embrace the pain of discipline today, you not only avoid the pain of regret, you also gain the rewards and joys of discipline tomorrow. But if you avoid the pain of discipline today, you will have to bear the pain of regret tomorrow, and indeed it is great pain.’
Thirdly, in the race of life, you want to run straight, keeping the prize and the finish line in mind. Now, imagine an athlete moving from track to track in a 200 metre dash; or reacts to cheers and jeers from the stands. He is not focused. He disqualifies himself.
If you must win in the race of life, you must be focused and not distracted. Your life must be purpose-driven. Like a skilful boxer, you do not want to be ‘boxing the air’. Every punch must hit the target and make an impact. Yes, in the race life you are here to win.
You want to train yourself: discipline your mind and body to do what they should do, and not what they like. Rules govern play in every sport. And no matter how good you are, if you do not play by the rules, you get disqualified.
Ask Tyson, a boxer that packed a tremendous punch. In his fight with Holyfield, his system may have told him at a point, ‘wouldn’t it be a bright idea to stop boxing and start biting.’ With a little bit of discipline, he would have replied that thought in his mind, ‘No, this is a boxing tournament, not a dog fight.’ But he chose to follow… And what was it that he was convicted off…? The report card… Disqualified!
In the race of life, there are written and unwritten codes. Principles we must live by to get the best out of it or otherwise ignore to our peril. We know of sports celebrities been banned for life or ending up in jail.
Again, you want to win in the race of life. You want to have balance in all that you do. You do not want to spend your health to gain wealth and later spend your wealth to regain your health. That is if you survive the loss of your health.
If you must ultimately win in the race of life, you must have balance. A good athlete is well balanced in all he does.
Solomon, you sound like you have it all together- perfect. No, that is not my connotation. I still make mistakes. What I am doing is working on every area of my life: spirit, soul and body, to bring it into balance. I am running to win in the race of life.
My goal here is to encourage you along that same pathway. I may not have arrived, but I am staying on track. And mind you I have gone off once or twice, but I endeavoured to get back.
In the race of life, I am running to win, getting rid of distractions or things that would hinder my getting the prize. The apostle Paul encourages us to:
Lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us -Hebrews 12:1, NJKV.
Now, this is the best part. In the race of life, there is a prize for every winner. In the athletic games, there are rewards: a wreath, gold, silver and bronze medals, wealth, fame, etc. Paul says all these are temporal.
In the race of life, the prize is an eternal one. God, Himself gives the awards and the rewards. The good thing is that, in this race, everyone can be a winner. Everyone has a place at the top. The question is, will take your place?
In the race of life, whether you are closer to where you are coming from or, to where you are going, you can win. There is a great winner in you.
God’s plan is for you to always have a continuous and consistent streak of victories now in this life and at the end, He will reward every person according to their deeds, every person who continues in well doing seeking for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life (2 Corinthians 2:14; Romans 2:6-7).
On your marks, get set… Winning starts now!
Thank you. Do not forget to keep living, loving and learning.
