Are you a winner in life?
As we embark upon the Olympics this week, the world will be cheering on the greatest athletes in the world. These athletes have worked hard, laboring endless days perfecting their skills for this once in a lifetime opportunity. We, as spectators, will do our part to cheer them on. During our time of watching the Olympics, some athletes will be highlighted giving us a glimpse of their personal sacrifices, which allowed them to get to this point.
We love to be winners in life and we like to associate with those who are winners. Winners inspire us and we can learn a lot from them.
Jesus came with a different defintion of winning. The Biblical standard of winning is a paradigm shift from the worldly perspective. The more you lose yourself the better winner you are. The less you strive, the more progress you make. The tighter you hold on to things, the more you lose. You may not lose physically, but you will lose in your soul. You will lose your peace, joy, and love.
The Bible says: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1Corinthians 13:13
If you want to be great and to outlast the trends and the voices of the culture, just love. Allow God to love you. Love yourself in a healthy way and love others as you love yourself. Love will demand that you deny yourself. Let go of your self- preservation and self-rejection even when it feels scary. The more you love the more of a winner you are.
What is winning in life? Jesus described it in Matthew 22:37-40 in the form of the two greatest commandments. It is to be in the right relationship with God, with ourselves and with others. We can accomplish more in life by allowing our relationships to be healthy. Otherwise we will accomplish things and use them to cover up our failed relationships or our weak self-worth. It’s not worth it. The Lord is cheering us on to success. He gave us His Holy Spirit, so we can be on the winning side.
The Olympians spent years of their lives to get the gold, silver, and bronze this summer. How are you investing your life to be a winner?