²⁵ Athletes in training are very strict with themselves, exercising self-control over desires, and for what? For a wreath that soon withers or is crushed or simply forgotten. That is not our race. We run for the crown that we will wear for eternity. ²⁶ So I don’t run aimlessly. I don’t let my eyes drift off the finish line. When I box, I don’t throw punches in the air. ²⁷ I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after all this, after I have brought the gospel to others, I will still be qualified to win the prize.