1 Corinthians 9:24-27
The athlete on the field of games is not passive. There’s no passivity about him — see him on the starting line, he’s not passive; he is thinking through the race before him, he’s focussed. Everything about the life of an athlete is disciplined. You name the sport, and I’ll show you an Olympian that’s under the rule of discipline. What he eats, what he drinks, what time he lies down to sleep, what time he rises up again; the intense training schedule for the space of four years, in season and out of season. The Apostle Paul draws on this powerful and well-known imagery to make his point. How run ye, O Christian?