...and the winner is, oh my goodness, me!

I COR 3: 8-10  8Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS”; 20and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.” 21So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, 23and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.

Everybody wants to be a winner.  We really love it when someone comes up from the bottom and beats the cocky "born lucky" ones.  And yet, I have this dilemma.  Where is the line between wanting to win and wanting to be like the ones we beat?  If we become like the ones we want to beat, aren't we actually losing?

The Bible talks about victory. I just typed in the word victory in my Bible software.  At first glance, here's what popped up for the search :

 Victory is listed 71 times!

We're made to win.  We're made to WANT to win.

I get caught up in reality TV shows. The cookoffs, the grand races, the decorator and designer wars,

the weight loss battles.  I've even watched a marksmanship shootoff with my son!

I love to watch the personalities of the winners.  I love to predict how they will handle a challenge. I even pause the video and sketch my ideas for fun just to see how close I come to winning designer.

The winners are often not the ones you'd expect from the beginning.

There's a secret to the winners, though.  I've noticed this about almost every single one of them.

Somewhere in the battle, they totally forget about themselves.  They can't wait to face the next challenge to show their achievement not just in the final outcome, but in showing what they've learned.  They fall in love with the process and they can't wait to do it again under new circumstances.  

But here's the deal.  They don't so much lose themselves in the project.  Just the opposite.  They somehow get to the point of  knowing who they are so securely that they don't have to hold back.   They take HUGE risks and lay it all down because somehow they know that no judge can take away who they are.

The ones who end up comparing themselves to others whether by belittling the competitor or boasting about themselves... they typically end up going home.

The winners want to win because they want more opportunities to practice their craft.

The winners listen to the critique and apply it, whether or not they agree with it!

The winners are always grateful for the opportunity they've be been given.

The winners don't back stab.  In fact, most of them see the others as worthy opponents and acknowledge their competitors' strengths and weaknesses as information they need to find ways to improve.

So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you,

22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, 23and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.

I've been given, stress "given", what I need to win. The secret to unlocking what I've been given is to give it away.  My victory - belonging - is already won.  This battle is simply not about me, but that's totally fine because I don't have to prove myself.  I belong.  And all things - wisdom, security, victory - those are all mine because they were given to me.

That I don't know how to use what I've been given yet is a side issue.  One that can be developed with each challenge.