There is No Second Place

Winning is a desire that we all have within us. We exhibit this even as children by running races, competing in games and seeking to win among our peers. Over and over again we see this dynamic played out in every stage of our lives. We’re inherently made to do our best and whenever we’ve won, we feel a surge of energy and joy go through us. This is a part of who we are and it impacts our daily lives.

This is a good thing as it causes us to rise above limitations and be the best we can be in life. It’s this motivation that can cause us to have self-discipline and to move beyond the normal routine into a pattern of greatness. We see this reality played out in business, sports, entertainment, exercise, running marathons and more. When passion ignites in our soul, it seems limitations become stepping stones into the purpose we’re reaching for. All of this comes from the desire to win.

However, there’s a negative part to this too. We can let competition dominate our lives with the need to be number one. This can lead to unclean motivations to excel, along with bad ideas of others. If we live life competing with others, we can miss the joy of the journey while desiring others to be under us. All of this comes from insecurities which promote wrong ideals and actions. Therefore, we must balance the idea of winning through the word of God.

Did you know the Bible says, we should run to win?

“Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!”

The apostle Paul put an emphasis on us seeking to win in the race of our faith. But, we must know that the race of our faith is not against others but rather it’s against ourselves; therefore, second place doesn’t exist in the Kingdom of God.

We’re not competing against other Christians or other churches. We’re competing against ourselves, seeking to be who God wants us to be. If you think about it, all of us have enough personal issues in our lives to deal with, so it’s about overcoming ourselves. When this is my focus, I don’t have time to worry about being better than others because I’m really trying to be better than me. This is freedom. This is peace and this is a mindset narrowed on the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Yet, this is easier said than done. Our competitive nature flares up seeking to feed insecurities and fixates on what we’re not, verses on what we are in Christ.

However, we can overcome this propensity by running our race of faith and running it to win. When I acknowledge I’m not racing others, it frees me to be healthy and do my best. It frees me to be happy for others and to support them, knowing we all have our own lane we’re running in. I don’t have to worry if someone is ahead of me or if I’m ahead of them. What matters the most is me running my own race. It’s me being determined to finish strong and to see Him face to face.

You see, second place doesn’t exist in the kingdom because no one is running against each other. He’s not pitting us against each other but rather He’s uniting us with each other. He’s asking us to help carry each other’s burdens as we run in our own lanes. This is the beauty of His church. It’s imperfect but led by a perfect Savior who helps us heal through relationships. This is why we must lay down competing against others and compete against ourselves.

Are you winning today?

Please let your answer be through the metrics of personal life change. Meaning, your character is growing both in public and in private. That your integrity is growing and you’re making adjustments to be more like Him. This is how we win!

So keep running your race. Run to win. Go all in, leaving nothing back and be excited to see Him face to face.

Remember, there’s no second place in Jesus. Do your best and chase after Him!

Have a great week and the best is yet to come,

PD