I am a very competitive person. I love a challenge. That’s why I wouldn’t have made it in Upward Soccer. I need to keep score. That’s also why I struggle with the old adage: “Winning isn’t everything.” But according to the Apostle Paul, WINNING was everything. I think Paul was keeping score…

In First Corinthians 9:19-27, Paul affirmed, “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might WIN more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to WIN Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might WIN those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might WIN those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might WIN the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

From this passage we can ascertain:

1. Paul had clarity to his purpose

He understood why he was put here… what needed to be done… and how to go about it. He had clarity. He wasn’t running aimlessly. He zeroed in on the target. He determined what a WIN looked like in his life. It was about Christ being formed in people and the Apostle gave himself tenaciously to winning at that one goal.

2. Paul was attuned to those who were far from God

Because Paul was so passionate at reaching people far from God, he was flexible enough to adapt to different playing fields. He knew how to get a “road win” for the kingdom. He contextualized the gospel in every environment and culture he found himself in for the sole purpose of bringing people to Christ. Napoleon Bonaparte addressing an opponent he had defeated said, “I will tell you the mistake you are always making. You draw up your plans the day before the battle, when you do not yet know your adversary’s movements, or what positions you will have to occupy.” Paul was flexible enough to adapt to the cause of the gospel in whatever situation he was in.

3. Paul had a winning mentality

For Paul, losing wasn’t an option. And so he beat his body to attain an imperishable trophy. He played for the success of the team. A winning mentality means you are willing to take one for the team. You are willing to change for the good of the team. You don’t exert yourself above the team. At the University of Notre Dame, they don’t put player names on the back of the uniforms for a reason. Former coach Lou Holtz explains it this way: “At Notre Dame, we believed the interlocking ND was all the identification you needed.” And so they have woven the attitude of adaptation and teamwork into the very fabric of everything they do. This is what Paul was about. Church and church planting is a team sport. It takes teamwork and adaptation to WIN at it. John Maxwell wrote, “One is too small a number to achieve greatness.” If we expect to achieve greatness for the glory of God – it will take a winning mentality and a team approach.

Play for the good of the team. Because… WINNING is indeed everything!