REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by Pastor Ryun Chang (AMI Teaching Pastor), was first posted on January 12, 2014.
Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend
“Winning Isn’t Everything, it’s the Only Thing!” That Depends
Luke 12:20
“You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.”
While the belief that sports build character may have been exaggerated, it continues to provide graphic snapshots of the fragility of life. Who can forget the sight of the protruding leg bone of a University of Louisville basketball player in last year’s March Madness?
A similar thing happened to an NFL coach who was “merely” watching the game from the sideline. Once, a Greek Bay receiver, after making a catch, slammed into his 52-year-old coach Gil Haskel, whose head then hit the artificial turf. After being taken to a hospital on a stretcher, the test showed that he lost neurological function and mental status. His skull was fractured; it was feared that his brain was injured as well. After the game, the Green Bay’s head coach said that this unfortunate event should remind us all of what’s really important in life. That was ironic because the oft-repeated motto heard in the locker room was something that another Green Bay coach had said years earlier: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
So how do we win? The usual route is outperforming everyone whether it is material acquisition, professional accomplishment, or for some, how their children turn out. But the question boils down to what we’re willing to trade for this. In one parable of Jesus (Luke 12:18-21), a man traded his very life to win the race to own the biggest barn. After a great harvest, this man said, “I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’” Unfortunately, an “unplanned” death changed all of that. Jesus, referring to this man as a “fool,” said, “Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? “
Jesus ended the parable with this conclusion: “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” So, how shall we live? Even as you work hard to obtain nice things in life, know when to say, “Enough.” Live a life that is rich toward God.
Always focus on building God’s kingdom. Don’t be a fool!
Prayer: Dear God, give me your wisdom so that I may know what true winning is in life. Help me to be a winner according to Your eternal metrics. Thank You for your eternal patience with me. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Philippians 1-2