Legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.” And for most of us, that’s become a personal truth. It’s hard to disagree with the ultimate bottom line in sports (the win-loss column), but as followers of Christ, we’re allowed to view things in a different way than the world. We don’t have to define success the same way those around us do because we have an eternal perspective on life. Yes, it’s OK to want to win and do well in the vein of conventional success, but because we think with a Kingdom mindset, we know that’s not the only way to achieve a win.
We can find and obey our God in every situation and trust Him to bring good from the results.
How do you view success in your sport? Be specific.
How do you view success as a Christian?
How much weight does succeeding carry in your life?
THINK IT THROUGH
In 2010, University of Texas senior quarterback Colt McCoy was playing in the most important game of his life. It was the BCS National Championship game, and his Longhorns were taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide. Already one of the most prolific passers in school history, McCoy needed only a national title to round out his legacy. Sadly, during the very first drive of the game, McCoy injured his passing shoulder and wound up watching from the sidelines as his team lost the game.
After it was over, a TV reporter asked the devastated senior how it felt to have to watch his team play this once-in-a-lifetime game without him. McCoy struggled for words for a moment before he launched into one of the most faith-filled moments in sports interview history. “God’s in control of my life,” he told a national TV audience, “and, if nothing else, I’m standing on the Rock.”
Failure? Or success? That all depends on whose standard you’re using.
Of course the world viewed that as a massive disappointment. But what if that moment was the epitome of obedience to the Lord for Colt McCoy? Would God not count it a success? And, if so, whose opinion matters more?
How would the world categorize McCoy's situation? How would you?
How do you think God would categorize this situation? Use Scripture to back up your answer if you know any verses that apply.
In verses such as 1 Samuel 15:22 and Jeremiah 7:23, we read that God’s desire for us is obedience to Him. We can’t control the circumstances of the world, but we can pay attention to the voice of the Holy Spirit and move when and where He says. We may not win every game on paper, but we can win every game in the eyes of God if we do as He asks in each moment. The only thing, then, is to change the way we view success and line it up with how God sees it.
Can we be sad and disappointed when things don’t go our way? Of course. We wouldn’t be competitors if we weren’t. But if we allow the Lord to renew our minds and see with His eyes, we can walk away from even the most devastating of situations knowing that we were winners that day because we followed Him. We may not have won the title or beat the record, but we did play our hearts out for Jesus by loving others, playing with integrity and using our gifts as best we know how.
And, let’s face it, athletic success is completely subjective anyway. Your teammates may consider a regular season win to be a great success, but you may not agree if you turned in a sub-par personal performance. A track runner might enjoy winning her race but not see it as success because she didn’t set a personal record. It’s all in the eye of the beholder, which is why we need something more concrete on which to base our level of success.
If we start to view success through the eyes of the Creator, we might just start to believe the truth that we’re successful if we obey Him, love Him and glorify Him in all we do, regardless of the score.
THE WORD
Let’s take a look at a great example from Scripture. Throughout history, God made a point of turning the tables on worldly achievers by calling them to a lower worldly status in acts of successful obedience to Him. Remember Saul before he was Paul? He was a rich, powerful Pharisee who had tremendous standing in the world. But all of that changed when he met Jesus, who gave him a new identity along with new instructions to leave it all behind and spend his life spreading the gospel he’d so vehemently denied. After maturing as a believer, Paul eventually saw that his new status was of much greater value than his former worldly-amazing life. Check out his comments from Philippians 3.
How much value do you place on worldly success vs. spiritual obedience? Which is more important to you?
Does your athletic success get in the way of your obedience to Christ?
Read the following verses and record what each says about success:
Matthew 19:16-30
TAKEAWAY POINT:
Wanting to be successful isn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, success was God’s idea; not man’s. He told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, which was total success. The writers of Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1 and Proverbs 16:3 all talk about God’s plan for our success. He wants us to succeed and has placed that desire in our hearts. The only qualification is that we need to be willing to succeed His way; not ours.
Success of the world is based on such limited and superficial views, but success in the Kingdom is so much broader and fruitful.
Even if we never win the championship—or any other game for that matter—in the spiritual world, we can be victorious if we are walking with Him in obedience. If we love our teammates and opponents… If we refuse to retaliate when we are confronted… If we look for ways to show Christ to those in our sphere of influence… If we compete for Him with all that we have… If we play with integrity and joy… Then we will find the success that truly matters and lasts into eternity.
TEAM TIME
It’s time to bring your minds together to talk about success and about the world’s view versus ours as Christians. Come back together as a group and work through the following points.
ACTIVITY:
The Bible is filled with stories of what could have been failures turning into spiritual successes. Using a whiteboard or flipchart, make a list of biblical stories you think would fit into this category. How do you relate to these men and women?
Based on what you considered in the lesson, discuss as a group some of your personal standards for athletic success. Make a list of common elements.
Considering what you learned about success in God’s eyes, come up with another list—one that features ways to succeed for Him on the field or court. But there’s a catch...Each item must include a Scripture to back it up. (e.g. Loving your opponents can be seen as spiritual victory, and that can be backed up by John 13:34-35.)
As a group, create a description for what true success means for you as a team and as individual athletes.
WORK IT OUT
This week, your team’s mission is to help each other begin viewing success through the eyes of the Lord. Choose one (or more) of the following activities to do as a team between now and your next meeting:
Using your answers from the final Team Time question, write an official team creed of success.
Text, Tweet, Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram verses about spiritual success to each other daily. (Almost any social media site will work.)
Memorize Philippians 3:7-8 or one of the other verses from this study.
Come up with your own idea!
RALLY CRY:
Once you have your plan of action, couple it with this week’s Bold and Beautiful Rally Cry. As a team, this will be your power phrase for the week. Repeat it when lies come to your mind; write it on your athletic tape; say it to each other; and remember the verse behind it.
“HE WINS!”
PHILIPPIANS 3:8