The Marathon Man (WSOP Edition)

As this year's World Series of Poker rolls on in Las Vegas, we're struck by how may events now have catchy titles. The "Deuce-to-Seven Lowball Triple Draw" admittedly sounds awfully nerdy. But we've mentioned the "Colossus" - and this weekend, the "Marathon" concluded.

Courtesy WSOP.com

Australia's Michael Addamo won the five-day Marathon, which had more than 1,600 entries. The name apparently comes from the fact that each level of blinds lasted 100 minutes, while your neighborhood poker room might increase the blinds after 15 or 20.

But let's be honest - don't most poker tournaments feel like marathons? Especially if you survive deep into the final table? The first table or two might seem like a sprint, as wild players take their chances and go bust early. But the fight to make the money takes time, and usually isn't easy.

A wise man once wrote about that - even though we don't think he ever played poker:

I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. - Ecclesiastes 9:11

We've been surprised by how long "turbo" tournaments can last in our new area. Even with 15-minute blinds, it took more than three hours in our last event to whittle 14 players down to four.

Outside the poker room, our lives also can be like that. While Addamo won a bracelet at age 23, it came after four years of effort at the WSOP and other events. To reach the ultimate success in life can take far longer - a lifetime, in fact. But consider what's promised:

To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations... I will also give him the morning star. - Revelation 2:26, 28

Jesus Christ made this promise to a church in the city of Thyatira (verse 18). National authority under Jesus is the reward to those who "endure," as the King James Version puts it. That will happen when the Kingdom of God comes to Earth.

There's been some sad news lately about famous names dying from suicide. It's hard to argue they truly "endured to the end." If you're thinking about doing the same thing, read this letter from a church President. Then seek professional help, if necessary. Save the desperation push for A-Q in a Small Blind - while ending your marathon of life successfully.