Just Win Baby!

Read: Matthew 20:20-21

“Just Win Baby!”

I have always loved that quote from Al Davis who owned the Oakland Raiders. Matter of fact, when taking the quiz yesterday, I had to give myself 6 points (out of a possible 5) for the question:
I have a hard time not winning and am an overly competitive person.

Some people might describe me as competitive lol. But, I wonder why does that have to be a negative thing? I believe that winning is more fun than losing. Whether it’s a game of Ping-Pong, basketball in the driveway, or coaching a sports team, I enjoy winning.

What invokes your spirit of competition? Did you compete to be at the top of your class, or maybe to be top in sales at your company? Perhaps you secretly compare the square footage of your home or the success of your children to that of a friend?

Many of us have this competitive gene in us. What do we want to be when we grow up? The best!

The desire to win in life is founded upon a mind-set that’s taught to us at a very young age. It’s a deplorable strategy, and it’s the way our society trains us. It’s been called “Elevation by Association.”

How does one move up in the world? By associating with the people who can get us there. We divide the world’s population into two categories: positive status people, and negative status people. If we surround ourselves with positive status people, then we believe that we too will become positive status people.

It’s an ancient strategy. We even see it play out in the Gospels: “Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons [James and John] came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him… ‘Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom’”(Matthew 20:20-21).

What was at the core of this mother’s request? She wanted her sons to have the highest places in Jesus’ kingdom—elevation by association.  It’s so easy to see the pride and desire to be elevated in others, but what about you?  Where are you seeking to be elevated?

You’ll be glad to know this isn’t the way of Jesus. His way involves serving others and seeking to glorify God in all that you do.