Ten Nigerians out of the 23-man squad in Tracks and Fields were disqualified from participating in Tokyo. Then a medal hopeful, Blessing Okagbare who did well in Heat was banned from racing in the Semi-Finals. The first group did not meet the requirements that athletes have to go through three random tests in pre-major tournaments. That error was not theirs but the government officials who failed to carry out their responsibility. Okagbare, on her part, was banned for failing a drug test. She was guilty of using a body-building substance. Everything came down to one thing: they all failed to comply with laid down rules.

Life, too, has rules. Those who end up being rulers or winners are those who have not only learned the rules but applied them… Every cause has a predetermined effect.

Apostle Paul noted in our text that the desire to participate or even participation in a race is not enough to win a medal. One has to comply with the rules. There is no sport ever invented that does not have a set of rules that governs it. Victory can only be determined when all rules have been strictly adhered to. Life, too, has rules. Those who end up being rulers or winners are those who have not only learned the rules but applied them. The rules of life are too numerous to squeeze into this space; but we can mention a few of them. For example, there is cause and effect in life. Every cause has a predetermined effect. A religious cast of that law will come to sowing and reaping. The Bible says what a man sows is what he will reap. It comes to this: if you don’t like what you are reaping as results, change what you are sowing as actions. A kindred law to sowing and reaping is compensation. The universe has an inbuilt mechanism to compensate for every energy expended. Learn the laws and live triumphantly!