a sabotaged race

The greatest threat to our race is not from outside influences.

Run in such a way as to get the prize. 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. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 1 Corinthians 9:24 NIV

I used to be fast like lightning. My running career was short lived, but that’s another story. It was, however, long enough for college scouts from two universities to approach my parents at a track meet when I was fourteen years old. Still catching my breath from the race, I met the scouts who assured me of the probability of full-ride athletic scholarships. I only needed to continued with track throughout high school. They said they would be watching me and would stay in touch throughout the years to come.

I was thinking back on this season early this morning and how it influences the way I run this race called Life. Here is one of my great take-aways. Don’t look back to see how the other runners are doing. One intentional glance back can cost you your race. It will, at the very least, cost seconds. And seconds are like minutes in a sprint.

I could feel when other runners got close and I had two choices. I could use it to help me run faster, or I could get side tracked and glance to see where they were in relation to me. The only way I could be the one to break the ribbon at the finish line was the first option. Focus on my race and allow my “competition” to make me better.

In a way, the real competition was not against my fellow competitors. It was against my tendency to compare and react rather than strive forward with my personal best.

Each of us has a race to run. There may be hurdles to jump and things that try to sabotage. Yet, I am convinced that the greatest threat is not from outside influences. It is from the worst kind of all: self-sabotage. That’s the stuff of inward comparison. It’s the negative self-talk that blurs our vision of the prize. Self-sabotage hinders, disrupts, and causes us to stumble.

The race of life does not have to be like an earthly track meet where several runners compete and only one winner wins while all the other losers lose. On the contrary, each person has the opportunity to experience the thrill of breaking the finish line of their particular race. An imperishable prize awaits as we run our race well.

Listen closely and you might hear the rushing roar of the grandstands of Heaven. Those who have gone ahead are cheering you on.

Run in such a way as to win your race.

Mary ♡

Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant! 2 Corinthians 10:12 NLT

For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 2 Corinthians 10:12 KJV