Just
got back from our 7th grade daughter’s basketball game.
Her team has had a great year and they finished the season by entering
a difficult tournament in Wheaton. The schools in this tournament are
mostly larger and wealthier. Even our coaches admitted that we were
underdogs. However, after a 28 point win on Friday night over Batavia
we held on for a 1-point victory against East Dundee on Saturday to
make it to the championship game against a tough Mount Prospect team.
Our team was smaller in size and in number (only 7 girls on our side).
In the first minute one of our starters went down with a sprained ankle.
Our team played tough and was down by 1 point early in the 4th
quarter but the other side made great shots and pulled away for a 12
point victory. Our team ended the year with a tremendous 29-3 record.
But this game made me real upset. Second place stinks!
I
know I shouldn’t care too much about who wins, it’s only a game,
it’s more important for the girls to have good attitudes, there is
no money or scholarships for the winners, etc. but for some reason I
am very competitive and absolutely want to see us win. If this desire
is unchecked it can lead to pride, anger, and idolatry. I’m convinced
that some sports fans need to repent of wrong worship. But I think there’s
something deeper, something good, natural, and from God, that makes
me (and the other parents) crave victory.
The
Lord has made us to be winners. In scripture we hear Jesus say “I
have overcome the world” (John 16:33), and read about being “more
than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom 8:37), “the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Cor 15:57), “the victory that has
overcome the world” (1John 5:4), and on and on. Life is a competition!
Paul
used a sports illustration in 1Cor 9:24 when he said, “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.” He doesn’t say, ‘just
have a good attitude’, ‘try hard’, or ‘be a nice person’.
He says WIN! But notice who we are competing against. “No, I beat
my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others,
I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1Cor 9:27)
The
enemy is me! I am competing against myself. No one else can make me
sin, cause me to turn to the world, or disqualify me. The Devil and
the World can only appeal to my sinful nature for entry. The battle
in my life is Mike (Holy Spirit side) versus Mike (Sinful side). The
results of this competition will make a difference forever. Victory
will bless my family, lead others to Christ, glorify God, and enable
me to enter eternity with confidence and no shame (1John 2:28). Defeat
will rob me of all kinds of blessings and bring curses down upon me.
Fill
in the blanks with your own name. The competition is between __________
(Holy Spirit side) and _________ (Flesh side). Jesus told his disciples
that “The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)
Who will win in your life? Remember that SECOND PLACE STINKS!
