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―HOW TO WIN AT THE GAME OF LIFE‖
Several years ago an article appeared in ―Moody‖ magazine entitled, ―Is Football Our National
Religion?‖ It was definitely a provocative article arguing that for a lot of people watching Sunday
afternoon football has become a compelling ritual with it's own distinctive liturgy. In fact, for some people
watching football can become an all-consuming passion, especially on Superbowl Sunday. I think it was
Erma Bombeck who said, ―Any man that can watch three football games in a row ought to be declared
legally dead.‖
The Bible often draws an analogy between life and competing in an athletic event. And when it
comes to how we live our life, just as in any athletic event, there are winners and losers, - there are players
who score the touchdown and there are players who fumble the ball. The question is: Which kind of
player are you? Or even more importantly, which kind of player do you want to be? The Bible says, ―You
know that many runners enter a race, and only one of them wins the prize. So run to win!‖ [1 Cor. 9:24,
CEV]. In an athletic event, what’s the point of playing in the game if you’re not playing to win? And the
same is true in the game of life. The Apostle Paul understood this when he says, ―…I am focusing all my
energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the
end of the race and receive the prize…‖ [Phil. 3:13-14, NLT]. The Apostle Paul was willing to do
―whatever it takes‖ to win,‖ and the same needs to be true for us as well.
When it comes to playing the game of life, there are two things that God is looking for in those
who are playing to win – faith and faithfulness. Faith is how much we trust God, and faithfulness is how
much God can trust us. The way God develops our faith is through trials, and the way God develops our
faithfulness is through stewardship. This is what it takes to win the prize when the game of life is over.
GOD DEVELOPS OUR FAITH THROUGH TRIALS
The Bible says, ―Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the
test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.‖ [James 1:12, NIV].
When it comes to playing the game of life, there is a prize to be won, but there is a price to be paid to win
it. The prize to be won when the game is finally over is what the Bible calls here, ―the crown of life.‖ This
is not a literal crown that we’re going to wear as we walk along the streets of heaven. But again, it’s
drawing an analogy between the walk of faith and the world of sports. In that day, the winner in an athletic
competition would be awarded ―the winner’s crown, which was nothing more than a garland of oak leaves
that would eventually crumble into dust. It had no monetary value, nor was it necessarily something of
great beauty. It wasn’t the crown itself, but what it stood for that mattered. The ―winner’s crown‖ was a
badge of honor and recognition that the winner wore proudly.
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When the Bible talks about winning the ―crown of life‖ it’s talking about the same thing – the honor and
recognition that we will receive in the day that we stand in the presence of the Lord.
To often as Christians we’re content just to play the game without playing to win either because
we don’t understand that there is a prize to be won, or we’re not convinced that the prize is really worth
winning. We need to understand that there IS a prize to be won, and that the prize really IS worth winning.
The Bible says, ―Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last
forever.‖ [1 Cor. 9:25, CEV]. In that day, an athlete would subject himself to months of rigorous training
with one purpose in mind – to run well and win a crown that would eventually fade away. How much more
should we do ―whatever it takes‖ to win a crown that will endure throughout all eternity.
But to win the crown we must be willing to pay the price. The one who wins the crown is the one
who has learned to ―persevere under trial.‖ It’s relatively easy to trust God in the good times, but
sometimes it’s a real challenge to trust God in the hard times. When we go through times of pain and
suffering, when we don’t understand what’s happening and nothing seems to make sense, that’s when our
faith is put to the test. We’re often tempted to think – Does God really love me? Then why is he letting
this happen? Does God really know what he’s doing? Then why is he letting this happen? Is God really in
control? Then why he is letting this happen? The real test of faith is making the choice to keep on trusting
him even in the midst of pain and suffering, no matter what.
Many of us are familiar with the story of Job in the Old Testament, and the suffering that Job went
through that made no sense at the time. Yet he could say with confidence, ―Though He slay me, yet will I
trust Him…‖ [Job 13:15, NKJV]. When David was going through some hard times, he tells about how he
was tempted to think that God had forgotten him and turned his back on him. Yet even then he could still
say, ―But I trust in your unfailing love…‖ [Psalm 13:5, NIV]. That’s what it means to have a faith that
―perseveres under trial.‖ That’s the kind of faith that wins the prize when the game of life is over.
But where does this kind of faith come from? Do we simply wake up one morning and there it is?
Does this kind of faith just appear out of nowhere? If that’s what you think, dream on. The Bible says,
―Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the
testing of your faith develops perseverance.‖ [James 1:2-3, NIV]. When we face the trials of life, we need
to look beyond the trials themselves and understand God’s purpose in those trials. God knows that the only
way to develop the kind of faith that can persevere under trial is to go through the kind of trials that will
develop that kind of faith. When it says here, ―…The testing of your faith develops perseverance,‖ in the
original language of the New Testament the word for ―develop‖ literally means ―to accomplish an intended
purpose‖ or ―to bring about an intended result.‖
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We need to understand that the trials of life are not ―random acts of suffering,‖ but God-given opportunities
to develop the kind of faith that will ―win the prize‖ when the game of life is over. That’s how we need to
look at life. In every trial we need to ask the question, ―How will this help me grow in faith and learn to
trust God more? There is a prize to be won, but only if we’re willing to pay the price to win it. So don’t
fumble the ball!
GOD DEVELOPS OUR FAITHFULNESS
THROUGH STEWARDSHIP
When the Apostle Paul was coming to the end of his life, and he knew the game was almost over,
he was confident that he had played the game of life well, - that he had played to win. That’s why he could
say, ―…The time of my death is near. I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have
remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me — the crown of righteousness that the Lord, the righteous
Judge, will give me on that great day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly
look forward to his glorious return.‖ [2 Tim. 4:6-8, NLT]. Again, we see that in playing the game of life
there is a prize to be won, but there is also a price to be paid.
Paul says here, ―…I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.‖ [2 Tim. 4:7, NLT]. Or
as The Living Bible puts it, ―…Through it all I have kept true to him..‖ [2 Tim 4:7, TLB]. In the game of
life, winning not only requires learning how to trust God but it requires learning how to become the kind of
person that God can trust. That’s really what it means to be faithful. And God develops faithfulness
through stewardship. The Bible says, ―…It is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.‖ [1 Cor.
4:2, NASB]. To be ―trustworthy‖ means that God can trust us to be faithful in fulfilling the stewardship
that has been entrusted to us. In that day, a steward was a household servant who had the responsibility of
managing his master’s property, which included all of his business and financial affairs. His job was to
manage his master’s property and assets to the best of his ability for the benefit of his master. And he
would be rewarded by his master based on how faithful he was in fulfilling his stewardship. As servants of
Christ, we have been entrusted with a stewardship, and our faithfulness is measured in terms of how well
we fulfill that stewardship.
The Bible makes it clear that nothing we have is really our own, because everything we have
comes from God. In the Old Testament David recognizes this truth when he says to the Lord, ―…Who am
I and who are my people that we should be permitted to give anything to you? Everything we have has
come from you, and we only give you what is yours already!‖ [1 Chron. 29:14, TLB]. Stewardship is about
investing the things that God has given us in a way that will further his kingdom and accomplish his
kingdom purposes in this world.
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When God measure our faithfulness in stewardship, he’s looking to see how well we invest three
things that he’s given us – our time, our talent, and our treasure. The Bible says, ―Therefore be careful how
you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then
do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.‖ [Eph. 5:15-17, NASB]. Another translation
says, ―Making the most of every opportunity…‖ [Eph. 5:16, NIV]. When we have opportunity to invest
our time in the work of God’s kingdom, what do we do? Do we make the most of the opportunity because
we’re looking to win the prize? Or do we squander the opportunity because we’re not really playing to
win? How we answer these questions is a good measure of our faithfulness in the stewardship of our time.
When it comes to the stewardship of talent, the Bible says, ―Just as our bodies have many parts
and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of his one body, and each
of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each
of us needs all the others. God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well.‖ [Romans 12:4-6,
NLT]. When we have the opportunity to invest the talents and abilities that God has given us in the work
of his kingdom, what do we do? Do we make the most of the opportunity because we’re looking to win
the prize? Or do we squander the opportunity because we’re not really playing to win? How we answer
these questions is a good measure of our faithfulness in the stewardship of our talent.
And let’s not forget the stewardship of our treasure. The Bible says, ―Tell those who are rich not
to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone, but their pride and trust should be in
the living God who always richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to use their money
to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being
ready to share with others whatever God has given them. 19 By doing this they will be storing up real
treasure for themselves in heaven-it is the only safe investment for eternity! And they will be living a
fruitful Christian life down here as well.‖ [1 Tim 6:17-19, TLB]. When we have the opportunity to invest
our money in the work of God’s kingdom, what do we do? Do we make the most of the opportunity
because we’re looking to win the prize? Or do we squander the opportunity because we’re not really
playing to win? How we answer these questions is a good measure of our faithfulness in the stewardship
of our treasure.
Let me ask one more time: In the game of life, are you just playing the game, or are you playing
to win? Just remember one thing: to the winner goes the ―winner’s crown‖!