Our Master Deserves More

I’m married to somebody who wakes up at 4am every day, turns on a lamp, walks over to the couch, and reads a statement he wrote to himself propped up on a wooden stand:

“David Goggins is awake and serving his master.”

David Goggins, in case you were unaware, is a former Navy Seal who has spent his retirement running ultramarathons, getting inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame, writing books, setting a Guinness World Record, and giving motivational speeches across the country to people seeking to live a healthier life. For many, he is the standard of human toughness and physical achievement. Joe Rogan and Dwayne Johnson have called him “the undisputed gold standard” and “a rare breed of human being”.

What’s Goggins’ motivation for the life he’s lived? What could drive someone to that level of physical discipline, even when no one else is requiring it from him?

Himself.

“All the energy and fuel you need is right in yourself. When you can find drive in your own doubt, fear, insecurities—you become unstoppable. I wanted to look in a mirror, not impress anybody—not money, not fame, not nothing. I wanted to impress the guy in the daggone mirror.”

In addition to these factors, some other things Goggins has credited as fuel for his motivation include fear, prejudice, and childhood trauma. These things have taken him far. They’ve become the foundation of his life and have helped him motivate others into the same mindset that got him where he is now.

But the sad reality of our world is that even for the most accomplished individuals, the things driving them towards “greatness” are the very things driving them away from God. Regardless of how glitzy the outcome appears, it’s the same hollow sins that were in the garden of Eden: pride, bitterness, selfish ambition.

Now take a look at this passage from 1 Corinthians 9:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

There’s one line there I want to hone in on: “They do it to get a crown that will not last.”

Not only are the motivations misguided, but if all of Goggins’ accomplishments are ultimately done to glorify himself, Paul says at the end of time it will all have been done for nothing. 

All of it.

The Navy Seal training, the pull-up world record, the 70+ ultra-distance races, the authoring of two books, the induction into the Hall of Fame. All of those things are crowns that will perish. And unless the Lord Jesus returns, most of them are things that will perish within the next few decades.

Now look at the next part of that verse:

“We do it to get a crown that will last forever.” Christians strive to glorify God with our entire lives. Every win, every accomplishment, every evidence of growth are things for which we give praise back to God. And isn’t that fitting? After all, He’s the one who gave us what we needed to achieve that goal in the first place. He’s the one who gave us the good desire to even set goals. He’s the one who saw our sinful motivations leading us away from Him and lovingly drew us in through Christ. He has denied us no good thing (Psalm 84:11) and guides us through even the deepest of isolation (Psalm 139).

Joseph Alleine, a saint who lived during the 1600s, knew the character of God intimately. He was likely impacted by all the same passages mentioned above. His wife wrote of him, 

He did rise constantly at or before four o’clock, and would be much troubled if he heard blacksmiths or other craftsmen at their trades before he was at communion with God; saying to me often, ‘How this noise shames me. Does not my Master deserve more than theirs?’”

Brother, sister: there are people in this world, all around us, who are chasing after their earthly masters harder than we chase after our heavenly master. They’re obsessing over new ways to maximize profit for their business. They’re spending hours in the gym to build up their physical appearance. Their free time is spent researching purchases that will enhance their comfort the most. And all their efforts are leading them to utter futility. Tell me, when’s the last time you spent hours obsessing over how your life can better glorify God? Over how to reach a friend with the Gospel? What about just in prayer?

Jesus states in the chilling words of Luke 16:8, “The sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.” We’re all running a race. Sadly, the world is often running harder. Yet Christians run towards something infinitely more glorious than the world. 

My husband knows all this. That’s why he wrote that quote for himself to read every day. But it isn’t merely the David Gogginses of the world that pushes him to holiness. As formidable an opponent as Goggins is, his body will fail him one day, and his name will be forgotten. Our good and kind Father is far greater a motivation. And He deserves far more from us than any god of this world.

So, go ahead: eat right, work out. But don’t think that anything less than zeal for God’s glory will get you anywhere near your ultimate goal. Our eating is for the glory of God. Our exercise is for the glory of God. Not our own. When you see the world’s masters driving them hard towards futility, remember that ours drives us towards eternity—and He deserves more.