INSIGNIFICANT FAITHFULNESS?

DAY 22 Winning Edge Devotions

LUKE 16:8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. 10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

Football coaches talk a lot about the ‘little things’ that matter. The difference in success and failure is sometimes just an inch. Sometimes after we lose I ask myself if I could have done just a little more. If all of us did it just a little bit better, would it make a difference?

The title of this series is ‘winning edges’. It is the idea that sometimes all we need to do to step from defeat and victory is just a razor thin edge. Coach Bryant used to instill the idea that all football games boil down to 4 or 5 plays that represent the difference in the game. Because the players never know what those plays might be, he preached that teams must play every play like it is the difference maker.

The passage above is part of an unusual parable that Jesus tells in Luke 16. The general message is that it is smart to prepare for consequences. The dishonest manager is commended for making moves to protect his future. He understands the way things work and works the system with urgency to his favor.

As believers in Christ, I believe we are to be winners in everything. I think it matters how we live, how we work, how we appear. We should be shrewd and not naïve.

Does it really glorify God if we are B grade in everything? Does our ministry matter if our lives are sub-standard?

I believe God is honored when we live lives of success top to bottom. We don’t sell our souls to pursue worldly wealth, we don’t serve mammon, but we don’t shrink from trying to be the best.

I want to be the best coach in my conference. I want my team to be the best team. I want my school to be the best school. I want all that I do to show God as first class. Anything with Christ attached to it should have an air of excellence!

How do we achieve this atmosphere of success? One little well done step at a time. Everything we do should be done with a sense of urgency and thought. We evaluate and correct. We put great effort in finding the winning edges. If we do all the little things right, we build habits of winning and success. Take a look at your room, house, closet, body, car- do those things show diligence and excellence? Begin with little things and win- at some point, championships will follow.

Father, I have not been faithful in little things. My life does not have an air of excellence. I have not competed shrewdly in this world. Please help me have the discipline and urgency to honor You by doing all things well. Let me find a winning edge… even today! Thank you for fresh starts to move in the right direction.