Winners and losers

So the NBA Finals are currently underway, with a rematch between the current champions, the Golden State Warriors, against the team they defeated last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers.  The Golden State Warriors are led by their double MVP point guard Stephen Curry, who happens to be a Christian.  I just read this quote from him, in which he said:

Being a Christian athlete doesn't mean praying for your team to win.  God doesn't give the edge to those who pray, over those who don't; hard work does that.  Being a Christian athlete means competing for Christ, in a way in which you always give your all for Him, and win or lose, you thank Him for the ability and opportunity to play.  It means giving all the glory to God, no matter the outcome, because you trust in His plan for your life.

That's really interesting.  I've lost count of the times I've prayed for Liverpool win.  It doesn't seem to work most of the time.  So maybe Stephen Curry is on to something :)

Isn't it true that (whether you are a Christian or not) we often pray for ourselves, or even our team to win?  To get the promotion in the office.  To win the lottery.  To do well in PSLE.  But what if the other side is praying too?  If praying is merely to get an advantage in life's contests, then which side does God listen to?

As I think about it, this truth really drives home the point that believing in Christ has very little to do with having the good life for ourselves.  God does bless us.  But the centre of the Christian life ought to have very little to do with bless me, bless my career, bless me with nice holidays and fun weekends, or even bless my children to succeed, get to the best schools etc.

Yet so many of us are la-la land Christians who don't so much believe in Jesus as we believe in Santa Claus, giver of nice presents.  Leaders who promote this image of God do the church no favours at all, because they preach the inauthentic Santa, not the authentic Jesus.  And inauthentic stuff simply doesn't work in the real world.

So does that mean that believing in Christ is no use for winning in this life?  No - in fact, what is offered is even better.  As the Stephen Curry quote says, when we work hard and give our all, for the glory of God, and in thankfulness of His provision, then we are trusting in His plan for our life.  And that plan, wherever it may lead us, is better than our own plan - it leads us to live the best life we can have!

Better than winning a game.  Better than getting a promotion.  Better than top scores in exams.  The best place we can be.

As readers of this blog know, every month, my church friends and I distribute bread to rental block residents.  Many of our group happen to be successful in the workplace and have happy families.  I often invite friends and colleagues to join us.  But it's important that we, and all our visitors, see that our success is not about our careers and our families, or even how we're "giving back" out of our plenty.

Our success is when, after a long week at work, we meet on Friday and literally kneel at the residents' feet to pray for their ailing joints; when we sit on the floor, crowded with people and newspapers and comfort someone who's lost a job and can't pay the bills; when we stand outside a locked gate and lend a listening ear to a lonely widow's stories and make them smile again.  Then, we are trusting in Him, then, we are succeeding.

So, how to win in life?  Work hard.  But not to win for yourself.  Win for Him.  Walk in the centre of His plan.  Then you are in the best place you can be.  Don't shortchange yourself.  There is a way to win, and He knows the way!

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