2 Timothy 2:3-4

4. No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

5. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

There is a way to win in the Christian race. There is this yoruba adage that says one way doesn’t lead to the market but in the Christian circle, one way does. Jesus said straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to everlasting life (Matthew 7:13-14).

In 2 Timothy, Apostle Paul admonishes the Christian to strive for mastery but not according to our own laws, or our own preferences and individual assumptions of the requirements of the race. There’s a lawful requirement to trade and to run. You can’t expect to enter through the wide gate and step into everlasting life at the end. The promise of everlasting life starts at the strait gate which leads to the narrow way. It is not just how you enter but how you continue. Some people enter through the strait gate and find a way to join the broad way, veering off the narrow way and still keep everlasting life in view. Everlasting life is at the end of the narrow way, it’s the combination of the strait gate and narrow way that leads us to that promise. I recall that in 2019, when the then Governor of Lagos State commissioned the ministry of works to put barricades to separate the express roads from the service lanes so that pedestrians are forced to use the pedestrians bridges. Before long, we saw that some hooligans had opened up the wire frames, they wanted to get to the other side by going through the broad way because it looked easier but it wasn’t safer.

To receive the crown, we must strive for mastery lawfully. Sports is very analogous to the concept that Apostle Paul explains here.

In the just concluded Olympics, there were 10,500 athletes and 1,468 medals given. 80,000 athlete registered for the Olympics, but 10,500 entered the race for medals in the different sports, of course because 10,500 met all the requirements in terms of timing and quality of application. Of the 10,500, only 1,468 medals were given across gold, silver or bronze tiers for the different sports. More specifically, Usain Bolt currently has the world record for the fastest runner in the world. It’s currently at 9.58 seconds for the 100m sprint, but he beat it by first beating the former fastest runner who had 9.74 and then he, Usain Bolt, did 9.72, 9.69 and then 9.58.

One of the beautiful things in the Olympics was seeing gold medallists account their win to Jesus. Again it underscores the fact that Christianity doesn’t excuse sloppiness, there’s room for sheer determination, ruthless execution, showing up everyday in this our Christian walk, but I digress, let’s continue.

For Usain Bolt or Asafa Powell, to beat world records or even for any athlete at all to compete, there are at least four things they must have mastered more than others. This lends its relevance to us as well. We have a race before us and as athletes, we must master these four things to win.

First, master your terrain. There are 3 terrains you need to gain mastery over, basically to understand them so that you can use that understanding to your advantage. They are your body, the world and other forces.