While walking through a store I spotted a sign that said, “Are you a winner?” Although it was referring to lottery tickets, it did cause me to stop and evaluate my life.
As I enter a new calendar year with anticipation of what is to come, I felt this was something I should take a closer look at. First I need to define what it means to me to be a winner. Is it coming in first in a contest? While this would be nice, I need to go deeper.
It isn’t prestige, awards or monetary abundance that makes me a winner. To define myself in that way, I must be making a difference in my sphere of influence. Am I a positive role model? Will I actively seek ways to make my part of the world a better place? Do I serve others unselfishly?
I found a quote by Edward Hale, author and clergyman that sums this up for me. It says, “I am only one, but still I am one; I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
God knows me and sees what is in my heart. When I live as though everything I do is for the Lord, I am pleasing Him. That is the way I can describe myself as a winner.
Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. Colossians 3:23-24 NLT