Wins and Losses

I am sure that many of you are familiar with the game of baseball. You may not know the winner of the World Series or the most valuable players, but you probably know what a home run is and what happens when you strike out. The reason why baseball is so familiar is because it is an American sport. We invented it and have been playing it for a hundred years.

The United States has a baseball team that represented our nation in the Olympics. This year, they were defeated by Canada and Korea. During the Korean game, there were a lot of empty seats on the U.S. side. But on the Korean side, it was packed like a can of sardines. We got beaten in a sport we invented, and nobody seems to care.

No matter how great we think we are, we cannot afford to sit back and think that things will be like they always were. No matter what accomplishments we make today, we still need to prepare ourselves for life’s realities.

The disciples were always discussing who was greatest and whom Jesus loved the most. Jesus taught them to be servants, and to be willing to take the lower seat. If God wants to call us up higher, then He will do it. But it’s up to Him, not us.

Mostly all youth go through a stage where they struggle for acceptance and worth. That’s because they desire to be something different than what they are. There is no competition for the low seat because not many want to be a servant. But that should be our first choice, because we need to learn how to serve.

In life, we will have good days and bad days, ups and downs, wins and losses. It’s just that way. How well we handle both will determine the kind of person we become. All relationships may not be a good relationship for us. Learn that. Expect that. So set your standard high and don’t compromise.

God has a plan and a purpose for our lives. Each day He provides us an opportunity to learn and mature. Sometimes God allows adversity because we learn things that we can’t learn any other way. It’s His way of making sure that we have the balance we need to be strong individuals capable of dealing with all of life’s struggles.

By: Edmund Brown