WHAT IS WINNING?
by: Sharyl Williams
I watched a sermon today by Craig Groeshcel from LifeChurch.tv. He used the movie MoneyBall as a springboard for his sermon, and brought out some interesting points with it. The movie came out last year and starred Brad Pitt. It is based on the true story of Billy Beane, who was the general manager for the Oakland A’s in 2002. The following scene takes place towards the end of the movie, after Billy was unable to take the team to victory in the World Series. He felt as though he had failed, not yet realizing that his actions and example would go on to change the entire culture of baseball, even though he didn’t bring home a trophy.
This clip touched me profoundly. I can just picture God watching me claw, kick and crawl my way to what I believe winning is, all the while missing the victory that He can see from His perspective. Maybe we are hitting a home run, and we don’t even recognize it.
If we try to ‘play the game’ (live our lives) like the world plays the game, we will lose every time. We can mistakenly think we need a big marker or trophy to show that we are living a successful life, making a difference, leaving our mark. We sometimes forget we are in this world, but not of it. Instead of trying to measure our lives by the same measure the world uses, we should be asking God for his definition of winning.
“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” -1 Samuel 16:7
God can see value in things that people may overlook. Redefine your definition of winning. Don’t settle for how other people define success. We can be successful, even when the world thinks we have failed. We can be a huge success at the things that matter most; Loving God and loving each other.
The Greatest Commandment
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
-Mark 12:28-31
