Failing is an inescapable reality to the Christian; failure is our constant companion and falling short a function of our daily lives. “Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” Jesus commanded (Matthew 5v48) and who among us could claim to even come close to obedience such as this?
Immediately, it is necessary to backtrack and say that success should also be part and parcel of the Christian life. We should be growing, maturing, being oh-so-slowly transformed into the image of Christ. It is good to look back over the years and see the areas we have had success in, the sins conquered, the increase in affections for God, the increase in love for his people, the increase in giving, the greater faith, love and hope we have and the trials and afflictions that have been overcome. Praise be to God, for the Holy Spirit is in the business of making us more holy. This talk of failure is not meant to be discouraging or to conjure up abject pessimism. It is meant to highlight two important truths: the grace of God and the sinfulness of our hearts.
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The desire to win is in all of us, sure, the precise strength varies, it’s usually more obvious in men than in woman but there’s no one on this earth who doesn’t like to win. But the problem with winning is that it means someone loses, it hardly seems ‘loving’ to put someone through losing and all the negative emotions that go with it. So is winning a sin? Should Christians seek to curb their competitive drive? Should we avoid supporting political parties, football teams or individual sportsmen so as to avoid any sin we may commit their winning or losing?
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