Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man… Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death. (Pro 8:1-36 KJV)
Baseball was my favorite game as a boy. I loved everything about it. The crack of the bat, the burn of sliding into base, the satisfying thumph of a ball caught in my mitt, it all thrilled me. I hated to lose, vowing never to quit no matter what the score. And I exulted in winning. The best part about winning was there was no doubt. Our team had fought and was victorious. We had beaten the other guys, it was right there up on the scoreboard where everyone could see it. I’d be so excited, it seemed like the sun would come up before my eyes closed. The following days were full of anticipation for the next ballgame, the next win. It was wonderful.
Sports are wonderful in their simple profundity. There is a clearcut goal: score more points than the other guy and you win. Practice, practice, practice, learning how to play the game and play it well. Relish the competition and rise to the occasion. Do the little things right, while keeping your eye on the goal. Never give up. I could cliche on and on.
But here is the thing about winning: you must hold to a fixed definition of what it means to win. Otherwise, anyone can claim at any time that they have “won”, by simply changing the definition. Such a delusion can be laughable in a game. It is tragic and deadly in a war. And we are at war now.
I’ve watched over the past two years as many of my brothers and sisters in Christ have re-defined what it means to win. We’ve bought into many varying definitions, but have forgotten the only one that counts: the righteousness and glory of God.
You say that the stock market is up, up, up. The book of James says, why do you show partiality to the rich, is it not they who oppress you? And what does Wall Street have to do with New Jerusalem?
You say that our enemies are humiliated and exasperated. Christ said to love your enemies, do good for them, and pray for them, lest God take His hand off of them and begin to chastise you.
You say that adulterers and fornicators are being exposed. Yet we ought rather the fear, rather than rejoice, for their sin is far less than what we think we have hidden from God and man.
When I look on a 10x holocaust of the unborn, I do not see winning.
When I look upon $20 trillion in debt ($60,000 for every person), that is rising by $1 trillion every year ($3000 for every person) for the next 10 years, I do not see winning.
When I look at some $200 trillion in unfunded liabilities ($600,000 for every person), I do not see winning.
When I look at a war that has raged for 17 years, with no end in sight, I do not see winning.
When I look at the fervent embracing of reckless immorality, I do not see winning.
When I look at the weaponization of government against its citizens, I do not see winning.
Again, I could go on and on.
So then, you may ask, what would be winning, what would you see?
I would see God the Holy Spirit pour out mercy and repentance across the land. I would see churches filling with people asking “What must I do to be saved?” Those same churches falling on their faces asking God to forgive them for burying their coins. Then all the nation would seek the Lord and His Christ and He would set us free. And the glory of God would be the rally point from coast to coast.
That is how I see winning.
