Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
1 Cor 9:24-27 (NLT)
The verses above come from Paul’s letter to the church in the city of Corinth. This was a historical city founded as early as 800 BC. It had been conquered by Rome and completely destroyed in 146 BC. Julius Caesar founded it again in 44 BC. He settled some of his war veterans here giving them lands and titles. It became the capital of the province of Achaia. Most of ancient Greece was contained within this province.
Greek
and Latin were the main languages in the city. Greek was the
language of daily use while Latin was principally for business
purposes. It was strategically located on
a narrow waterway (only 6
kilometers wide). All North-South and East-West traffic had to pass
through this port.
Paul and Silas planted the church in Corinth at around 50AD during their second missionary journey. (Acts 18:1-17) Their ministry was so successful that they stayed there for eighteen months. Only in Ephesus did Paul stay for three years.
In these verses, Paul uses a picture drawn from the Isthmian Games. This was the second most important Roman sports festival after the Olympic Games. The Isthmian games were held every two years in Corinth and attracted thousands of people from all over the Roman Empire. The sportsmen competed in six disciplines – athletics, boxing, wrestling, discuss throwing, javelin, and jumping. The modern Olympic games still incorporate these six disciplines. The winner was decorated with a pine wreath on their head. Paul refers to this crown as perishable. He contrasts it to the imperishable one a Christian receives after he finishes his race of life.
Historical records show that the games were held the following year while Paul and Silas were preaching in Corinth. It is highly likely that the missionary duo witnessed them. But he was writing this letter from Ephesus (1 Cor 16:8) as a reply to questions that the Corinthian saints had.
Since the games attracted tens of thousands of people, it seems Corinth did not have enough lodging facilities to house the visitors. The solution was the use of portable tents. These were simple coverings made from animal skins and goat hair, some of the finest materials in use in the ancient world. Paul himself was a tent maker. (Acts 18:3) It is therefore likely that Paul (alongside Aquila and Priscilla) did thriving business during the games.
But Corinth’s success was rivaled by its infamy on sexual vice. Its principal deity was Aphrodite, the goddess of sexual love.
The ancient Olympic games were first held in 776BC. They were the most prestigious event held in Olympia in Greece. The games were held every four years in July in honor of the Greek god Zeus, the senior-most god in the Greek pantheon. The champions in the different disciplines were awarded a wreath from a sacred olive tree. They were considered blessed by the gods and got eternal fame throughout the empire. In addition, they got other favors, awards, and privileges from their home cities.
Paul used the images of the games in three other portions of scripture. He wrote to his son Timothy in his farewell letter in 2 Tim 2:5; 4:7-8, and to the Hebrews in Heb 12:1. It is also possible that he wrote to the Philippians with this image in mind (Phil 3:14).
African athletes have excelled in the modern Olympic Games. More specifically, Kenya clinched most medals in the middle and long-distance races. The middle and long-distance races are the 800 m, 1,500 m (the mile), 3,000 m steeplechase, 5,000 m, 10,000 m, and the full marathon (42 km).
These middle and long-distance races differ from the sprints. The sprints are categorized as 100m, 200m, 400m, 400 m relay, and 400 m x 4 relays. Generally, the fastest athlete wins. Speed is key in sprint races.
However, in long-distance races, an athlete requires endurance rather than speed. However, speed is always important in the final lap. This is what athletes call the final kick. Having conserved his energy by properly pacing himself, an athlete unleashes a momentous burst of energy and sprints down to the finishing line. In other words, middle and long-distance races not only require intense training, but they also require strategic running. As Christians, each one of us needs to focus on his race of life, endure and finish strong.
Kenya in particular has pride of place on the winner's podium. In the thirty-first (XXXI) Olympiad (Rio 2016) Kenya was the best-placed African country at position sixteen. The country had a total of thirteen medals (six gold, six silver, and one bronze). In the thirty-second (XXXII) Olympiad, Kenya emerged position nineteenth overall with a total of ten medals (four gold, four silver, and two bronze.) These were in the men’s and women’s marathon, men’s 800 m, and women’s 1,500 m.
The essence of the verses is an emphasis on training in order to compete rightly. Training gives the athlete the confidence to run his race and focus on the prize.
