1 Corinthians 9:24-27

You know that in a race all the runners run. But only one gets the prize. So run like that. Run to win! All those who compete in the games use strict training. They do this so that they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time. But our crown will continue forever. So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air. It is my own body that I hit. I make it my slave. I do this so that I myself will not be rejected after I have preached to others.