ESSAYS
All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, modified, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Simple Things 101 . You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

S I M P L E T H I N G S

Winning is Not Enough
© Copyright. Simple Things. Mark E. Holmes
Author: Mark E. Holmes
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." ~Romans 8:35-37 (NIV)
Some years ago, I watched Carl Lewis compete at the Olympics in the one hundred meter dash. He had his usual exciting burst of speed the last fifty meters or so. He won the race setting a new world record. As the race was being analyzed by the commentators through instant replay, I noticed that Carl Lewis looked to his right about ten meters before the end of the race to see his nearest competitor. At that moment, I asked myself this question, "What more is there after winning?" You see, even though Carl Lewis won the race in world record time he settled for "just winning". He did not stay focused to the end. He did not give his full effort and attention to the mission at hand. He could have run faster. He could have reached his potential. To reach your potential and to help others to do the same is the hallmark of a godly life.
The Ruler must recognize that "just winning" is not enough. Reaching your potential makes you more than a conqueror.