Winning Isn’t Everything…It’s The Only Thing – Friday

Week 3 | Been There

Listen instead of reading

Take a Moment

Ask God what He wants to show you before reading today

Read The Daily

First pride, then the crash— the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.  (Proverbs 16:18‬‭)

A great football coach once said, “winning isn’t everything…it’s the only thing”  People close to me would probably say that I’m a little competitive (wink wink).  Why would they say that…maybe because I think or talk about winning all the time.  Don’t get me wrong…it’s healthy to have an inner drive, but I often (and sadly) always end up taking it too far.   The problem is that it’s now carried over to both of my kids as well.  Last summer we had a huge family fight at my parents house.  It all stemmed from an outdoor kickball game…yes, a family kickball game.  When I realized that my daughter and her uncle aka my brother were about to fist fight..I realized I had created little monsters.  I hate to confess this, but I like to win and to be right.  The only problem is following Jesus requires me to realize that winning or being right isn’t actually the real win for my life.  

We may not easily admit it, but many of us like being angry. We may not enjoy up-close conflict, but we often like taking a stance or choosing a side.  Christians sometimes even label their anger as “righteous,” excusing it when we think it’s for a good cause. And while righteous anger is a biblical concept, it’s worth asking ourselves: Is this anger of mine actually righteous, or is it a just an excuse for me to prove I’m right?  Some anger is good. When something hurts one of God’s kids, we should absolutely get angry. But that anger needs to lead to acts of love and compassion—not pride and division (like our kickball game). Ultimately, Godly anger prompts us to do something to help. Human anger prompts us to do something that hurts. So let’s think about our outrage for a second. Is it possible that our anger is often fueled by pride? 

Because here’s the thing about anger: It often convinces us we’re right. And if we’re right, that means they’re wrong. And if they’re wrong, then we win. And that sense of winning—being on the right side or praising ourselves for our good behavior—really fuels our pride. And like Proverbs tells us many times, pride leads to the crash.  Today, spend some time thinking about these questions:
Is my anger most often fueled by righteousness or my desire to be right?   
Is my anger helping others or hurting others?   
How often is pride the source of my anger? 

Prayer for the Day

God what are you  showing me?  What am I going to do about it? 

God help me to see one person that I can serve through a kind word, random act of kindness, or simple gift today?

Make sure you complete the reading or comment today.

Read The New Testament In A Year

4 x 6 Plan | Read: Matthew 3:1-12 & Romans 1:1-7