[Run to Win] Rules of the GameSample

Rules of the Game

In all sports, there are rules because, without them, the game could not be played. Rules give the game order and clearly spell out the objectives and goals. Whoever follows the rules and shows more skill and strategy during the game gets the victory and is declared the winner.

Today, there is an incorrect trend in sports that says, “it is okay to cheat as long as you don’t get caught.” However, cheating devalues the game and cheapens the athletes and their skills and talents. Winning by cheating makes the victory hollow and without benefit. It makes others see you as someone with a certain degree of dishonor. An athlete who succumbs to cheating loses their credibility among peers and in the eyes of the public.

We are in a big game that is constantly changing—our life. We can either play it by the world’s arbitrary rules or according to the rules of Christ. Undoubtedly, Christ gives us a better result, full of love and humility, than other players may perceive. Our life’s goal is to preach Christ and show people who He is. Paul was the apostle burdened with making Christ known to those who had never heard of Him. If we were to put his words in the context of a game, he might have said, “In the game, I obey the rules so that by obeying the rules I may show Christ to others, and they may be won to Him.”

Playing by the rules is a way to gain an audience for something much greater: the opportunity to show others Jesus’ love and point them to Him. In contrast, cheating drives other people away. We must be attentive to playing the game by the rules that Christ teaches us so that we may see a victory in our lives and in the lives of those who play with us.

Lord, teach me to play by Your rules so that others may see You in me. Show me how victory in this life consists of living by Your rules and not by the world’s rules. Draw others to me by the way I play and show me how to serve my teammates and rivals by serving You.