1 Corinthians 9:25-27

Living Bible

²⁵ To win the contest you must deny yourselves many things that would keep you from doing your best. An athlete goes to all this trouble just to win a blue ribbon or a silver cup,^[a] but we do it for a heavenly reward that never disappears. ²⁶ So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I fight to win. I’m not just shadow-boxing or playing around. ²⁷ Like an athlete I punish my body, treating it roughly, training it to do what it should, not what it wants to. Otherwise I fear that after enlisting others for the race, I myself might be declared unfit and ordered to stand aside.