Always The Winner

None of us like to lose and there’s nothing wrong with that. If there is something wrong with wanting to win, then I’m in a lot of trouble! But seldom is anyone always the winner. Johnny Weissmuller who played (Tarzan) is an example of an undefeated winner. Holding at least 67 world records as an Olympic swimmer, he was never defeated in 10 years of competition. We all loved Tarzan, but he was not exactly a winner in 5 marriages which included shouting, brawling, and fodder for the tabloids.

I’ve never met anyone who was perfect at everything. Great athletes may be outstanding in sports, but few athletes seem to be good bookkeepers, likewise, bookkeepers are seldom great athletes. A really great plumber is probably not a good ballet dancer and so on. It seems nobody can claim the title “Always The Winner”

When Winners Lose

Winning is very satisfying but it can become a problem if our only purpose in life is winning. If we let everything else in our lives have no value and winning is all that matters, then what happens when we lose? If we look around we can find other examples of what happens when someone has made their entire life about winning.

The list of famous winning celebrities who have serious problems in other aspects of their lives is long . Lindsey Lohan, David Hasselhoff, and Courtney Love come to mind, but Mike Tyson sticks out to me because my son Andy and I shared a love of boxing. Mike was the undisputed world heavyweight champion and a destroyer in the boxing ring, but his personal life was a mess. he seemed to be a loser everywhere but in the ring, even forced to file bankruptcy after earning 400 million dollars!

We all like to be “right” but needing to be right all the time is seeking to be the winner. When we seek to (keep up with the Jones’s) it is seeking to be the winner of having the nicest yard or car on the block, the best (big boy) toys or the most expensive purse, jewelry, shoes, or clothes. It’s smart to buy quality needed items, but when owning a name brand is the main focus it can become an obsession, a condition, a problem.

Me As A Fraud

I am guilty of all these things and since I never had any money to speak of, wanting to keep up with the Jones’s caused me great pain. Once I bought a fake Rolex watch for $20. That watch brought me incredible enjoyment. For a short time, I felt as good or better than those around me. Even after it stopped working (one week later) I still wore that thing until the “diamonds” fell off, then I bragged that I had sold it for a great profit. Yep, I had it bad, so what changed? Well, “I” changed when I accepted Jesus as my savior. When I asked Jesus to come into my life, “I died” and a new me was born. Self-interest, pride, hate, anger, and worry took a back seat and was immediately replaced with love and peace of mind. Jesus does not care who you are, where you are, what you look like, or how much money you have. He is there for all of us.

Anyone can have this new life. All you have to do is ask and believe in Jesus like I did.

Jesus will never force you to accept him. I’m glad I did as my earthly life is very short, as a vapor.