Run in such a way that you may attain it.”​—1 Corinthians 9:24.

⁴ True, in the ancient games, only one could receive a prize.

No, he was not saying that the race for life is a competition in which each participant tries to defeat all the others. The Corinthians knew only too well that that kind of competitive spirit existed among the contestants at their Isthmian Games, said to be even more prestigious at that time than the Olympic Games.

He took the illustration of the runner one step further and said: “Moreover, every man taking part in a contest exercises self-control in all things.” (1 Corinthians 9:25a) In saying this, Paul was alluding to something with which the Corinthian Christians were well acquainted, namely, the rigorous training followed by the contestants at the Isthmian Games.

 9, 10. (a) How does one source describe the contestants in the Isthmian Games? (b) What is particularly worthy of note about the description?

⁹ Here is a vivid description of a contestant in training:

“Contentedly and without a murmur he submits himself to the rules and restrictions of his ten months’ training, without which he may as well not compete. . . . He is proud of his little hardships, and fatigues, and privations, and counts it a point of honour scrupulously to abstain from anything which might in the slightest degree diminish his chance of success. He sees other men giving way to appetite, resting while he is panting with exertion, luxuriating in the bath, enjoying life at pleasure; but he has scarce a passing thought of envy, because his heart is set on the prize, and severe training is indispensable. He knows that his chances are gone if in any point or on any occasion he relaxes the rigour of the discipline.”​—The Expositor’s Bible, Volume V, page 674.

¹⁰ Of particular interest is the observation that the one under training “counts it a point of honour” to follow such a rigorous routine of self-denial. In fact, he “has scarce a passing thought of envy” at the ease and comfort that he sees others enjoying.

12. Why can it be said that the glory and fame that people have sought are like the corruptible crown awarded at the Isthmian Games?

¹² The winner at the Isthmian Games received a wreath of Isthmian pine or some other such plant, which probably withered in a few days or weeks. Of course, it was not for the perishable wreath that the athletes contended but for the glory, honor, and fame that came with it. One source relates that when the victor returned home, he was welcomed as a conquering hero. Often city walls were torn down for his procession to pass through, and statues were erected in his honor. In spite of all of this, however, his glory was still corruptible. Today, few people have any idea who those conquering heroes were, and most really do not care.