“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.” 1Cor 9:26-27
When I was young, it was a butting joke among my dad’s friends that businessmen and lawyers had a common streak of lying. In order to sell his product, a salesman would always feature the best parts of his item downplaying the negative attributes. When negotiating for a buy, the businessmen would take on another role, and keep on pointing out the bad parts of the merchandise so he can buy it at a lower cost.
Likewise, a lawyer would organize his arguments to be able to defend his client, manipulating information to suit the argument. Choosing only those items that would give credence to his position and carefully planning his rebuttal at all costs. The objective was to win the case and set his client free.
My uncle who was a lawyer would say that was part of the trade. Wit, gab and wisdom were needed to win the race. Competition was not just against another lawyer and his reasoning or a fellow businessman and his product. It was also a competition with one’s own record. Like a runner tries to improve his speed in every run.
As I grew older I observed how focused some businessmen were in pursuing a gain, as lawyers would battle with both justice and pride to get their client a good deal. Both wanted to win all the time.
Fixated on these two professions as I aged further, I began to change my perspective and take note of what ruled their hearts. Where my uncle found satisfaction in seeing his client free, our businessmen friends also revelled at the fact that their inventory changed every cycle. But there was more to that. I noticed that there were lawyers who would painstakingly research, both the background of their clients and their opponents. Those who had their hearts focused on God, would pray before every preparation, seeking His wisdom in their decisions. In arguments that would lead to what was just and right. And freedom took a different shade.
For the lawyer who raced with the tendency to win the case at all costs, grew a conscience to win in the courtroom with what was right. The businessmen also allowed his customers to make their choice based on the up and down side of their commodity. They would point to the salient features of their product and discuss the benefits of one over the other, allowing the buyer to decide for himself and make a purchase with open eyes.
Could it be the advancing of years that has changed their perspective and mine? Or could it be the knowledge that we were now running a different race. That our victory this time meant more than a sale or a closed case. That winning was more for ourselves as it was for others?
In business, a proprietor did not just want to sell for himself. He had to earn as well for his staff. To keep his business so that those who depended on it could also earn a living. In court, a lawyer had to also look at the innocence of the other party in order to make his client’s plea fitting of the truth without denying him his right to defence. The tempo in the run has changed. The idea of triumph also took a better, more sustainable turn.
As the knowledge of God grew in their hearts, their directions were focused on winning for Him. Making a profit for His purpose and giving a more sustainable gain to all those concerned.
So like all of us, the race is focused on winning God’s approval. Struggling with the temptation of pride and money. Denying the tendency to be selfish and self-centered in order to seek and pursue a greater gain in God’s kingdom. This is the race we must press on.