1 Corinthians 9:24-27

International Standard Version

²⁴ You know that in a race all the runners run but only one wins the prize, don’t you? You must run in such a way that you may be victorious. ²⁵ Everyone who enters an athletic contest practices self-control in everything. They do it to win a wreath that withers away, but we run to win a prize that^[a] never fades. ²⁶ That is the way I run, with a clear goal in mind. That is the way I fight, not like someone shadow boxing. ²⁷ No, I keep on disciplining my body, making it serve me so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified.