(Love) does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. I Corinthians 13:6
Sometimes even the best sports teams go on a losing streak. A major league baseball season lasts 162 games. It is not uncommon that even the best teams will have a losing streak of four or five games during the course of a season. Let’s say that a team has lost five games in a row. What do you think their morale is like before their next game? Do you think that they think “we are terrible”? Professional athletes will tell you that their mindset before every game is “Get a win today!”
Let’s say that a team has lost many games in a row and they win on a particular day. What do you think the mood is like after the game? Do you think the team thinks “well, we still stink”? Professional athletes will tell you that their mindset after every win is “We won today. Let’s go win tomorrow.”
In life, sometimes we go on “losing streaks.” We go through a bad time at work, in marriage, with our children, even with our faith. We have crises and we wonder if our marriage is doomed, or if our kids will not be successful adults, or if our jobs are going to work out, or if we’ll feel overweight forever, or whatever myriad of things causes us to feel discouraged.
One of my best friends has a phrase, “let’s get some wins” which he uses to boost morale of his co-workers when he or they perceive there is a losing streak going on. And this is among the best pieces of advice and encouragement I have ever received. I think of this often actually. If today is the start of a new day, I haven’t gotten in an argument, I haven’t eaten poorly, I haven’t failed to exercise, I haven’t made a mistake at work, and so a “win” today is possible. Yesterday, whether I won or lost, is over. Tomorrow is tomorrow, and tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. The challenge is to get a win today.
To the couple whose marriage is not what they want it to be, go on a few dates, have some good days, get some wins.
To the person who hasn’t exercised, go exercise today, and tomorrow, and the next day. Get some wins.
To the person who doesn’t have a good work ethic, put in a good effort today, tomorrow and get some wins.
To the person who doesn’t pray or read the Bible, don’t count all the days or years you haven’t done these. Pray today. Read the Bible today. Get a spiritual win today! And then go for a repeat tomorrow and the next day.
If you’ve had a lot of wins, but have had a few bad days, don’t think of the bad days, get right back into winning form. And if you are on a good streak, get a win today and keep it going.
Today is all we have. The “games” of yesterday have already been played. You either won them or lost them. The “games” of tomorrow will not be played today. So play the “game” of today as best you can. And strive to get a win today.
And if you get a win today, celebrate it. Resist the urge to temper the win by already anticipating a future loss. There are many people who cannot celebrate a win because they are already contemplating the next loss. So, count the wins, and make the wins count, celebrate all of them. And when you’ve lost, don’t despair, get up tomorrow and go get a win. As today’s Scripture verse reminds us, love (and God) rejoices in the right. So when we’ve done well, celebrate that! And when we’ve done wrong, correct it so we can celebrate a right, a win.
Lord, thank You for the gift of a new day. Thank You that each new day brings a new opportunity to succeed at something. Help me to focus on the needs and the opportunities of today. Help me to focus today on prayer, on reading scripture, on following Your commandments. Help me to have a good work ethic today. Help me to be kind today. Help me to glorify You today. Amen.
Go get a win today!
Dedicated to Alkis Crassas, who inspires me and so many others to “count the wins.”
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The Revised Standard Version of the Bible is copyrighted 1946, 1952, 1971, and 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and used by permission. From the Online Chapel of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
