Do you or any of your friends ever feel like the race you started isn’t worth finishing?

You’ve worked hard. Been a good provider. Tried to do the right things. But you’re asking, “Is this it? Because it seems kind of pointless.”

All around us are men under pressure, zooming down the fast lanes of life, straining to keep pace. Many are oblivious to what they’re doing. Some, however, are starting to wonder about it. Some are weary. And some others have hit the proverbial wall.

The impact extends beyond men, though. In the process of pursuing career goals, for example, many men end up neglecting their wives emotionally. Slowly, the two of them grow apart. Eventually, their kids, who often take their cue from Dad, begin running in their own races, which often produces the unintended consequence of fathers feeling left out and unappreciated. And finally one day—sometimes twenty years later—it slowly dawns on a man that he gave his best years to a career that promised what it couldn’t deliver.

What Is the “Rat Race”?

We have created a culture that requires more energy than we have to give, and we all feel it. The rat race—#54 on my list of 70 things every man needs to know—is the conflict between who you were created to be and who you are tempted to be.

It is the endless pursuit of ever-increasing prosperity that ends in frustration rather than fulfillment. And it charges an expensive toll; it will take everything you are willing to give.

If that’s you, you’re not alone.

How Men Get Caught in the Race

The Apostle Paul asked a penetrating question in Galatians 5:7: “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?”

Two verses later, he gives the answer: “A little yeast works its way through the whole batch of dough” (Galatians 5:9). In other words, a small distortion—a lie—works its way through a man’s thinking.

History offers a striking illustration of this. In the late 1800s, John D. Rockefeller—a devout and lifelong Christian—became the richest man in the world. But by age 53, his body was collapsing. He suffered severe digestive problems, insomnia, and constant anxiety. Doctors warned that if he continued living the way he was living, he might not survive another year. Rockefeller had spent decades relentlessly building Standard Oil. Yet he found out the hard way that no one wins the rat race.

After his health crisis, he radically changed his life. He traded the rat race for God’s race. He slowed down, restructured his life, and began giving away enormous portions of his wealth. In the end, he lived to the age of 97.

The real goal of life is not to win the rat race. It’s to run the right race. 

The Race Marked Out For Us

Scripture reveals that there is another race: “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out of for us” (Hebrews 12:1b).

And how do we do that? The verse goes on—by “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2a).

The right race always begins by fixing our eyes on Jesus.

Always on your side,

Pat

P.S. Who is one person concerned about working too hard or too much? Please forward this email to them.

P.P.S. Next Tuesday we’re going to look at rest from a biblical perspective—and I’ll help you draft a personal plan so you can feel the peace and joy of the Spirit on a daily basis.

Reflection and Discussion Questions

• Reflection (Heart): Where do you feel the pressure of the rat race most in your life right now?
• Understanding (Head): According to Galatians 5:7–9 and Hebrews 12:1–3, what causes men to drift off the right path, and how do we return?
• Application (Hands): What is one practical step you can take this week to slow the pace and refocus your life on the race Jesus has set before you?