Strict
1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
I often have read this passage as keeping to the mission of the Lord. But looking at it again, it may be more about our personal walk with the Lord than the overall mission. Of course they go together, but the emphasis is on how our very personal walk influences our overall mission for the Lord. We sometimes focus the failure of the body of Christ on leaders and that has a point, but many will report that the breakup of fellowships often come from personal failures that get magnified by group dynamics as well as weak leadership. Everyone in the body counts toward or away from healthy fellowships. The question that comes from this passage is “Am I contributing to the message of the truth of Jesus (the gospel) getting to as many as possible?” Or am I in the way? By the way, the prize is not some kind of adulation in heaven, but an increased fellowship with the Lord by the people of this time.
For your prayers, The nation of Democratic Republic of Congo