Win well.
Theme: Act Like You've Been There Before
Verse: "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." — James 4:10
There are some great traditions in sports.
One that I'm very familiar with will take place this weekend when the Air Force Academy travels to West Point to take on the Black Knights of the U.S. Military Academy in the second leg of the annual battle for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy.
When the game ends, the winning team will line up behind the losing team as the defeated team sings its alma mater in front of its fans. When that song is over, the victorious team will race to its end of the field to sing its own alma mater in front of its fans, who are understandably a little more excited.
The winning team's willingness to wait before celebrating is a sign of respect for its defeated opponent. Before celebrating their own success, they honor those who fought hard against them.
Unfortunately, we don't always see that kind of grace in victory. One sign of a mature, self-confident athlete is the ability to win without feeling the need to show up an opponent.
Barry Sanders, the Hall of Fame running back for the Detroit Lions, was famous for handing the ball to the official without fanfare after scoring a touchdown. He seemed to live by a simple philosophy:
"Act like you've been there before."
Being humble while basking in the glory of victory is one of the most difficult things to do. Yet humility is exactly what God calls us to practice.
God opposes pride and arrogance. He calls us to live humbly, displaying gentleness and grace as we represent Jesus in our daily lives. We don't need to elevate ourselves or diminish others to prove our worth. When we humble ourselves before the Lord, we trust Him to lift us up in His time and in His way.
When we stand before the Lord, our earthly accolades will not earn us a place in His presence. Our trophies, titles, possessions, and accomplishments cannot save us or give us an advantage over others.
What will matter is our relationship with Christ. Did we live with Him in mind? Did we serve Him, or did we spend our lives serving ourselves? Did we love others, treat them with respect, and demonstrate the humility of Jesus?
My prayer is that when our time comes to stand before the Lord, we will be able to look back on our lives knowing that we treated others with the same respect demonstrated by those service academy football teams and the same quiet humility displayed by Barry Sanders.
Winning is wonderful, but how we win matters.
After all, the greatest victory in life isn't about lifting ourselves above others; it's about humbling ourselves before God.
Have a GREAT week and Go Air Force beat Army!