By Troy Murphy

I have taken on the huge task of finishing my basement: flooring, framing, electrical, drywall. I actually enjoy the work even though it takes much longer than I desire. There is also a financial and physical cost to pay that often discourages my excitement for the vision, but there is a phrase that drives me. It’s a concept, or even better a character quality, that I continue to strive for that allows me to weather through the “hard long work.” That’s called delayed gratification.

In the 1960s, a Stanford professor named Walter Mischel began conducting a series of important psychological studies that tested his theory of this character quality with children from the ages of 4-5. It was called the Marshmallow Experiment.

One marshmallow would be placed in front of a child, who was told to either eat it while Mischel left the room, or wait and get an extra marshmallow when he returned. The concept was simple. The child could wait and delay enjoying the sweet taste of a marshmallow now in order to have a better experience later.

Isn’t it funny how simple something like this sounds yet how hard it is for so many of us to master. Wait, work and struggle for a better tomorrow. We employ this principle in other areas, but why not in our spiritual lives?

Listen to Paul’s challenge in 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27 (The Voice):

24 We all know that when there’s a race, all the runners bolt for the finish line, but only one will take the prize. When you run, run for the prize! 25 Athletes in training are very strict with themselves, exercising self-control over desires, and for what? For a wreath that soon withers or is crushed or simply forgotten. That is not our race. We run for the crown that we will wear for eternity. 26 So I don’t run aimlessly. I don’t let my eyes drift off the finish line. When I box, I don’t throw punches in the air. 27 I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after all this, after I have brought the gospel to others, I will still be qualified to win the prize.

I have officially taken on the basement completion project of my own soul. Actually, I am in the middle of that work right now. God is ripping down old stuff and remodeling my life to match his vision for me. It’s hard, long and sometimes painful but I know when he comes back I will have more than I could imagine.

Troy Murphy is lead pastor at Green Bay Community Church