Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NKJV

From an early age we are taught to be competitive. We want to do well in sports. We want to be picked for the teams at recess. We want to make good grades. As adults, we want the good jobs with good pay. We want to have nice things and have people notice what we have. These are all the crowns that we strive for here on earth.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to get good grades. College is competitive as is the job market. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make a salary that allows us to provide for our families and even for some extras.

But we must pay careful attention to what Paul is saying here. These are all temporary things. These things will pass away.  In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus warned against storing up treasures here on earth. He warned that these were susceptible to being destroyed by rust, eaten by moths, or stolen. And we can’t take these “treasures” with us.

But our crowns in heaven are permanent. When we receive these crowns, we will want to have them to lay at Jesus’ feet and worship Him. We won’t want to keep them, but will want to use them in this act of worship.

We will want to use them to please God. So often, here on earth, we seek crowns that will bring us the envy of other men and women. We want to be honored by man and we want to please man. But Paul said in Galatians 1:10 that if we seek the approval of men, we are not servants of Christ.

So, I ask you today to think about what crown or prize you are competing for. Are you seeking to please man or be the envy of others? Or, are you seeking to please God? When we please God, we will also be more apt to please men. Not in a material way, but in a way that hopefully will cause them to want what we have. I don’t mean wanting the possessions we have, but they will want the peace and joy we have found in Christ. They will see Christ in us and want this.

You may suffer persecution here on earth and you may not be picked for the teams at recess or get the best job, but if you please God you will be on the best team for eternity. You will walk on streets of gold. You will live in a city with gates of pearl. And you will live in a mansion that Jesus has prepared for you.

When you are going for the prize go for the one that is forever. Forever is a long time and if you want to win the race, you must compete for the right prize. There is a good chance that we are going to be running for some prize for most of our lives. You don’t want to win only to find out you’ve competed for the wrong prize, right?

Seek to please the Lord. Seek Him with all your heart. And always remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these other things will be added to you.”

Have a great day!