Winner Takes All

by Tim Howard                                                                                            

In every sporting event where two opposing teams face off there is a loser and a winner. Someone fails and someone succeeds. The feelings are quite different and the contrasting emotions can be seen in the demeanor of each player.

For those following March Madness, some teams have experienced euphoria while others have a humungous letdown. U.C.F. could have won the game against Duke but a one-point lead kept them from elation. Wofford College in South Carolina might have celebrated with gusto if they had been able to keep Kentucky from scoring in the last few seconds. Regardless of the score, a win by 1 point or a win by 30 points is a WIN and Winner takes all!

Vin Scully said: “Losing feels worse than winning feels good.”

 After fifty-five years, I can still remember the pain I felt when I received my first ‘F’ on my report card in Junior High School.  Up until then – I had been a straight ‘A’ student but when I saw that ‘F’ on my report card – It was like branding a very large ‘L’ for loser on my forehead.

Since that time, my view of winning and losing has changed and I’ve grown in my ability to distinguish between what’s true and false. When I hear people speak about winning, I try to discern if what they say is true or false?

Here are some statements from famous people about winning that I believe to be false. I’m convinced they will not help you grow a healthy understanding of winning and losing.

Tiger Woods:  “Winning solves everything.”

Vince Lombardi:  “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”

Knute Rockne:  “Show me a gracious loser and I’ll show you a failure.”

George Steinbrenner:  “Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next.”

Here’s some quotes that I believe to be true and helpful to building a healthy understanding of winning and losing.

Roger Staubach:  “Winning isn’t getting ahead of others. It’s getting ahead of yourself.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar:  “You can’t win unless you learn how to lose.”

Yogi Berra:  “I tell the kids, somebody’s gotta win, somebody’s gotta lose. Just don’t fight about it. Just try to get better.”

Tim Tebow:  “We play a sport. It’s a game. At the end of the day, that’s all it is, is a game. It doesn’t make you any better or any worse than anybody else. So by winning a game, you’re no better. By losing a game, you’re no worse. I think by keeping that mentality, it really keeps things in perspective for me to treat everybody the same.”

In life we need to embrace winning and losing because they are inseparable. We will all experience both in our lifetime. Truth is: It’s possible to learn as much from losing as you can from winning. If you are really going to win in life, you must learn the secret of how to lose.

Don’t get me wrong. I want to win. Paul the Apostle said:  ^“Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!”  Winning isn’t everything but wanting to win is.

Win or Lose God is on your side! If you fall (and we all will) get back up and God will strengthen you to run with renewed focus and energy. (Proverbs 24:6)

At the end of life, those who have put their confidence in Jesus will be on the winning team, regardless of your wins or losses. Faith in Him brings victory!

And remember: Winners take all!

Take A Good Look

by Sylvia Gaston

I asked the following question of several job candidates this past week: What is your greatest strength and greatest weakness?

Most of them easily recalled their strengths but had to think long and hard about their weaknesses. I found this fascinating because it is REALLY EASY for me to list my weaknesses. One could assume that is because I’m overly critical of myself, and I may be, but I can just as easily recite my strengths.

How aware should we be of ourselves – where we excel and where we fall short?

Go too far to one side and we can easily become narcissistic (too obsessed with ourselves). Go too far in the other direction and we can become oblivious to the areas of our life needing improvement.

What’s the appropriate balance?

I believe what the Bible states in the Book of James (4:14) that our life is but a vapor that is here for a little while and then vanishes away.  So, if my time here is so short, what am I to do with it? That’s probably where the real examination should begin.

I’ve asked myself that question at least a hundred times. Here’s what I know so far…

I know that I was meant to love and influence the five great humans that are my children. I know that I am to love my husband the best that I can. I know that I am called to my position at Koinonia Church. But, most importantly, Jesus Himself said that I am to love God with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind and all my strength. He also said to love others as myself. (Mark 12:30-31) That’s a lot!!

IF I don’t take a look at how strongly or weakly I am doing the things I was created for, how will I know if I’m getting it right?

IF I don’t reflect on my days, how will I learn from my mistakes?

IF I don’t take a look back, how will I enjoy and be encouraged by the small successes of life?

According to the Center for the Healing Arts and Sciences, self reflection

·      Builds emotional self-awareness

·      Increases integrity as you reflect on core values

·      Allows for new ideas to emerge

The Bible puts it this way - “Let us examine our ways and test them and let us return to the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:40)

Personal growth occurs in silence as often as it does from experience.

Do you have a habit of intentionally setting aside time to sit in silence and reflect? How often should you do so to make it beneficial to your life?

In the busyness of doing, producing, accomplishing, living – we often find ourselves with no margins in our life for grace, rest, enjoyment…let alone, reflection. I’m so guilty of this! And as I type these words, I smile at the thought of those things – being gracious to those around me, resting in the company of the ones I love, enjoying life.

That alone makes it worth the effort of making time to take a look.

Waiting for the Throne

by Andrew Cromwell

The Bible is full of amazing stories that were “written to teach us” (Romans 15:4). One such story is found in the life of King David. David is one of the central characters in Scripture. This incredible piece of history about a shepherd boy who became king happened about about 1,000 years before the time of Christ. 

David was a powerful warrior, a wise king, a faithful friend, and a man who worshipped God with his whole heart. And for all of his wonderful qualities, the Bible also unflinchingly tells the truth about his lesser qualities as well. Among other things, he committed murder, cheated with another man’s wife, disobeyed God, and was a lousy father. There are many lessons to draw from David’s life and if you are not familiar with him, you can read more in the book of 1 Samuel.

The very first time we meet David in Scripture was the day that he was anointed king over Israel. The fly in the ointment of this amazing day was that there was already another king on the throne — King Saul. And so when David is anointed king, it happens secretly. 

It is very clear that God had chosen David to be the next king. He sends a messenger, a prophet named Samuel, to go and anoint David because the current king, Saul, was on his way out.

So as the story goes, they call David in from the fields where he would tend his father’s sheep and goats. Samuel anoints him with oil (which is how you prepared kings for the throne in that day) and the Spirit of the Lord rests upon David. But then instead of taking David to the capital and actually placing him on the throne, Samuel leaves and David heads back to tend the flock.

And for the next 15 years, David waits to become king. 

Fifteen years is a long time between being anointed king and actually taking the throne! If I were David I would be tempted to doubt whether it was really God who had directed Samuel in the first place. I would have given up on the dream of ruling the nation of Israel after maybe year three. But David waits faithfully and he stays close to God and trusts that He is in control. Oh, there are plenty of twists and turns in the story during those years, but it is clear that David made the decision to stay faithful to God through it all.

What lesson can we learn from this? Well, I believe that part of what God does in everyone’s life is to make him or her wait. God has a destiny for each and every person on the planet and He also has great gifts and blessings He wants to pour out on all of His children. But there is always a period of waiting between the time when He reveals what He is going to do in your life (David’s anointing) and Him fulfilling what He promised (David’s taking the throne).

The problem is we don’t like to wait. We push and we pull. We moan and we cry. We throw a fit. We try to force God’s hand and try to make it happen. We get mad at God and complain about our circumstances. And we forget that God is actually at work preparing us to receive the promises He has prepared for us. We want it all right now, but God knows that if He gave it all to us, the blessing would actually be a curse because we aren’t ready for it.

So the next time you have to wait a little while (or fifteen years), don’t forget that God is at work. Remember what Philippians 2:13 says, “for it is God who is at work in you...in order to fulfill His good purpose.”