A lesson from my grand daughter

Sundays are always busy days for Pastors. One of the highlights of my Sunday morning is when my grand daughter Allison arrives at church. This past Sunday she wanted to show me how fast she could run. She sprinted across the front of the room and invited me to run with her. I told her she was too fast for me, but she insisted I run with her. She outran me from one side to the other a few times and then I sat down to look over my sermon notes. She insisted that I try again to beat her in the race. Sensing she had something in mind I agreed to run with her. This time the race was much different. She did not shoot out of the blocks but delayed to allow me to get a head start. She dutifully tagged along behind me allowing me to win. When we finished she was all smiles “See Papa, you can win too”.

Her lesson to me reminded me of something very Important…I don’t always need to win. Sometimes being right does not need to end in a victory dance. The best kind of win is allowing people to keep their dignity. I am very competitive and I am not always good at recognizing how to win with grace. As I crossed the finish line to the cheers of my grand daughter, it felt good to know I was loved enough that she slowed down to let me win. Her lesson for me was extremely timely and God directed.

“12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Col. 3:12)”

Too often I have believed that the power of my argument was enough to persuade. Fully equipped and educated in God’s Word, I can take apart weak arguments and win a debate, but is that the objective? If it does not end in love, then it is not the objective of God it is mine alone. When it is more important to be right than to live right and love right we can lose big time. Allison reminded me that love is the best way to win.