Fans

The headline on SportsIllustrated.com read, "Colts Fans -- All 11 of Them -- Welcome Team at Airport." The Colts, losers in the Super Bowl, had a very inauspicious homecoming. It's a tough world out there. Sports, beauty, music, film, cars, you name it – First Place or No Place. Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN radio have said on numerous occasions that the NFL no longer builds for the future. Teams recruit, sign and trade to win today. Like businesses that only look at the bottom line TODAY, even if that means mortgaging tomorrow. First Place or No Place.

 

I don't remember Jesus saying that. In fact, he said "turn the other cheek," "go the extra mile," "lay down your life for others," "the first shall be last," and "blessed are the meek." It is easy to be double-minded (a hypocrite in Jesus' speech) in today's world if you are a Christian. That is, saying all the right things while all the while being immersed in (and influenced by) a "win at all costs, First Place or No Place" culture. It tears at our soul.

 

Today, be kind to the "loser," the person who is precious because Christ says so despite the fact that society says it's okay to ignore or, worse yet, put down, the non-winner. Leave that kind of sorting back in Junior High. Lift up the average today. Cherish the invisible people in your path. Compliment the overlooked. Move beyond prejudices (the problem is not that we have them, the problem is that we BELIEVE them.) Today, see losers as winners. Know that Jesus sees you that way as well.