1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Temperate in All Things

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (KJV)  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 

The Apostle Paul likened the Christian life to a race where at the end of the race, there is a prize for the runner who completed the race. In an earthly race, where the prize is an earthly crown, the athlete disciplines himself so that he may be in the best condition for the race.

For the Christian race, the stake is an incorruptible crown that endures through eternity. He has to watch himself in all things that there might not be excesses in anything.

He therefore more rigorously disciplines himself, by the grace of God, to put his body under subjection so that he may run the race in the best condition for the Lord’s sake. That he may not run in vain but accomplished the purpose of God for His glory. Amen.