“Run in such a way that you will win.” 1 Corinthians 9:24 NLT
“You may not always win, but you should always play to win. You might be surprised.”
My thoughts today are about “playing to win.”
If it’s not your best effort and if you have no desire or intention to win, why make any effort at all? I have never understood people who stroll through life with no ambition and little motivation to give their best or get better. That just seems like such a waste of even the smallest measure of energy you give. Why give anything if not your all?
When I would settle for a less than best effort my Dad often reminded me, “Anything worth doing is worth doing right.” I understood him to mean: do it right; do your best; play to win. I have believed that what you do for God should be the best you are capable of doing, every time, all the time. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord.” Colossians 3:23 TEV.
Why would anyone expect to hear God say, “well done,” if they hadn’t done their best? You don’t have to win, but you should always play to win. You might just surprise yourself. You have probably watched an NBA game when it’s late in the game with a point deficit apparently out of reach. The losing team can either play the game out with every effort – even extra effort – or they sometimes start going through the motions, without any further effort or expectation of winning. There are times a team wins because they won the game fair and square; there are also occasions when that same team may win only because the other team lost the game. Winning is not always the issue; actually playing to win is the real issue!
How could that apply in your spiritual life? How about your marriage and family? Your job? Your goals and dreams? Are you really playing to win? If so, you will spare no cost. No effort will be too much. No compromise acceptable. No sacrifice will be too great. There will be no quit in you. Complacency and good enough is, well, just not good enough!
If you are a student, aim to be the Valedictorian of your class. If you are an athlete, practice and strive to be the best you are capable of becoming. If you work, become the employee of the month. When you commit yourself to a marriage, dedicate yourself to it. If you wish to be called a Christian, be the best of what you claim to be.
The Bible says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge cloud of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.” Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT.
Don’t begin what you won’t finish. Don’t give something that’s not your all. Don’t get involved but remain uncommitted. Don’t bother to play if you won’t play to win!
My prayer for you today is to give God your best; He deserves no less from you.