1 Corinthians 9:23-25

Living Bible

²³ I do this to get the Gospel to them and also for the blessing I myself receive when I see them come to Christ.

²⁴ In a race everyone runs, but only one person gets first prize. So run your race to win. ²⁵ To win the contest you must deny yourselves many things that would keep you from doing your best. An athlete goes to all this trouble just to win a blue ribbon or a silver cup,^[a] but we do it for a heavenly reward that never disappears.