Vince Lombardi once said, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." I love that guy. His mantra for the Green Bay Packers must have stuck in my head as a kid because I was competitive in every area. I made every ride on my tricycle a race of some kind. Playing with friends always turned into a competition and I was stuck on winning. It became rather obsessive over time.
It got to a point that we competed over everything. We took pride in seeing who could smooth talk their way into getting the most extra pieces of chocolate cake at lunch or seeing who could fly a paper airplane right passed the teacher's nose without getting caught, which was always fun. Also, playing cards proved to be a perfect expression of our competitive juices. You could hear cards slapping and shuffling all over the place during breaks and lunch.
To this day, a game of spades will get my heart racing in anticipation of annihilating my opponents. It's bad enough that most of my family prefers not to partner with me because of my tendency to share helpful, but unwanted advice on those rare occasions when I'm losing.
Those who think I may have gone overboard with cards never saw me in the vicinity of a ping pong table. We are talking about an intensity level that could only be matched by Donald Trump attempting to admit he has ever been wrong or Joe Biden trying to complete a sentence. My prowess on the ping pong table was legendary, especially to me. I once had the privilege of representing our local college at an intramural sports event that included ping pong.
After working my way through a few underlings who played as if they never heard of Vince Lombardi and his famous quote, I entered a playoff round against a Korean gentleman who appeared to have been born with a table tennis paddle in his hand. His first serve came over the net while spinning in an amazing pattern that caused my eyes to cross.
I hung in there valiantly, giving the young fella my best efforts until he finally got the best of me. I was pouring sweat at match's end and I learned a few things. For instance, I may have been the first person to get tennis elbow from playing ping pong, which I didn't know was possible. I'm certain that I was the only guy playing with my zipper down. You would have thought the distraction would have worked in my favor, but it didn't.
Many times, I've had defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, saving my happy dance for another day. In my life as a Christian, I have felt much the same way. Temptations that had seemed to be conquered have found ways to resurface and find a win occasionally. The one step forward, two steps back routine can get annoying.
The word "gospel" means "good news" for a reason. The Lord knows how fickle our nature and resolve can be, which is why He leaves our ultimate victory in the hands of Jesus. This passage from the second chapter of II Corinthians puts it simply. "But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ's victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere" (Amplified Version).
There's a lot of good news in that verse. Mainly, that God takes the lead, through His Son, carrying us to victory. Plus we get to be His living trophies as we spread the message that Christ always wins in us. This doesn't mean every battle will be a win , but it does assure us that the war was won for us, not through us.
Today, let's drop our scorecards and lift our hands in touchdown fashion for what God has done for us. Even if you feel whipped by circumstances or weakness, proclaim yourself a trophy of God's victory. It's true, whether the score appears in your favor or you are losing with your zipper down.