Boxing the Air

The epistles text in the lectionary for this coming Sunday is 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. That brief little paragraph seems to summarize much of what Paul has been saying since the beginning of chapter eight and sets up what he will say in chapter ten. When one reads through 1 Corinthians 8-10, he or she is nearly, if not completely, overwhelmed with some of the implications of declaring Christ as Lord.

In the summary found at the end of chapter nine, Paul is focused on making it clear why it matters about meet sacrificed to idols (chapter 8), the danger of abusing our freedom in Christ (chapter 9), and finally the danger of spiritual arrogance (chapter 10). What makes those kinds of issues important is not so much the issue itself, but the “imperishable prize” that is before us – and potentially before those with whom we have the opportunity to exercise influence.

At the heart of keeping that prize before us is Paul’s exhortation that we “run in such a way that you may win.” (9:24) The present imperative form of “run” would suggest that Paul is urging the Corinthians believers with the idea that they need to continue to run. He has affirmed that they are “on the foundation” (3:10-15) and to be on that foundation means that it is imperative that we “run.”

But much of Corinthians digs down into the nitty-gritty of how pagans are transformed into the body of Christ. Sometimes that can be a bit ugly. I often wonder how welcome members of the church at Corinth would be in many “conservative, Bible-believing churches” in our own neighborhoods. Paul certainly is not condoning their way of dealing with some of the “ugliness” of transformation, but he clearly hasn’t written them off as a lost cause.

Thus it isn’t just an imperative to run, but “run to obtain the imperishable prize,” and that caveat is applied to his own sense of running when he says, “so that after preaching to others, I (emphatic) will not become disqualified.” (9:27) One of Paul’s great “lessons in preaching” is certainly on exhibit here – it never seems to be “one thing for others” and “something different for me, the apostle.”

Self-control seems to be the key term to describe how we run this race called the Christian life. That principle seems to be on display throughout 1 Corinthians 8-10. Self-control means that you and I will be sensitive to the weaknesses of our fellow believers (chapter eight), that we will sacrifice our freedom and be slaves in order that others can come to Christ (chapter nine), and that we will seek the good of our neighbor, not ourselves (chapter ten).

None of that is particularly the norm for us when our lives have not been given to Christ. Our unredeemed nature would suggest that we need not care about the weak among us; that we get more freedom, not less; and that our own good is always the first priority. Only self-control can possibly create an approach to running that stands in contrast to what seems to be the prevalent approach to living in our own culture.

All one needs to do is visit the magazine section of a modern bookstore. See if you can find a cover story on a magazine that suggests that we really ought to be willing to sacrifice our own rights in the name of a weaker brother, or that we really ought to be willing to even become a slave so that others can know Christ, or that we ought to always be more concerned about the good our neighbor needs than we are our own.

Paul might suggest that there is a whole lot of “boxing in the air” these days among believers. His reminder to the believers at Corinth, troubled folks that they were, is a good reminder to us as well – run with self-control, there is way too much at stake.