Running to win...

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. I Cor 9:24

I wonder if the apostle Paul viewed life through the lens of winning and losing...? It opens up the question for me of Paul's personality type, and how personality may have informed his writing, and his theology.

When you read Paul's autobiographical description in Philippians 3, he is quick to catalogue his personal accomplishments. If spiritual life was a competition, Paul ran to win...and was, in that context, a winner. Still, it was Paul's theology that nothing we do can earn a right relationship with God. In the Jewish culture of the day, being "right with God" was a function of having followed all of the rules...in a way, it was a "point system," and whoever scored the most spiritual points, won. It's interesting to me that Paul uses sports analogies, and frames spiritual life as a competition, given the fact that he himself recognized the human inability for spiritual perfection. In that respect, none of us will ever win...so it's best if we don't set ourselves up to compete our way into relationship with God.
From a personal perspective, I find the influence of Paul's personality in his writing very interesting. I've always loved the verse about 'running to win,' because at my core, I am a very competitive person. The funny thing is, until now I've never comprehended the fact that it's my personality that frames how I read this verse...and that there are millions of people in the world for whom "winning and losing" is a non-issue. I wonder how the admonition impacts them when they read this verse? Truly, I think that our personalities have a great deal more to do with our interpretation of scripture than we might imagine. It seems to me that in Paul's case, his personality is influencing his theology, even when his theology is in direct opposition to that personality. If so, if would make for an interesting internal struggle on his part, and could also make for an interesting new way to read his letters to the churches.

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