Daily Devotion MARCH 1-2 ’23
The final score says we won, but at what cost?
When the cost was excessive, too much really, we speak of it as a Pyrrhic victory, named after King Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose army suffered irreplaceable casualties in defeating the Romans at the Battle of Heraclea in 280 BC.
I love to win. So do most people, and virtually every team. Why play if victory is not the ultimate goal?
Once in high school basketball, we beat a team by 23 points; but when we played that team again in the regional playoffs, they won by four points. Overconfidence can also cause one to lose.
All of which reminds us how important good sportsmanship is in our game-playing. We may be proud of our win, but that does not give us he right to belittle the losing opponent. There’s nothing humorous about an injury, to one of your own or to a member of the other team. We should always congratulate the other team when a game is over; they competed; they had the stamina to face us; we should applaud.
It's important to have similar practices in everyday life, like respecting others even when they oppose you and, yes, even when they say demeaning things to you. Retaliation is always a loser, so taught a man by the name of Jesus.
