Choice

In every industry there are examples the best.  Criteria may vary, but whatever it is, there is always someone doing it better than you are.  Banks measure themselves on profit, shareholder value, and market share.  The music industry looks at sales, number one hits, and the number of top performing groups.  Success criteria vary, yet somehow, someway, criteria are defined, numbers calculated, and winners identified.
 
I hate coming in second.  I want to win in everything I touch.  In work I want to be the best in the greatest company.  In every thing I participate – sports, turning a bowl, and even making a mess (slang for having a good time), I want to be learning, growing, moving towards being better than I was yesterday!  The goal is simply being the best in everything I do.
 
In the quest those who win learn from others.  They take help when it is offered.  Looking in the mirror; fully, openly, and firmly is mandatory.  Choices are there and winners are ruthless in their willingness to take on difficult choices.  When one combines winning, examples of being the best, and learning how to win one finds life in a constant state of change.  Things are happening.  Implicit in this is the benchmark of being the “best”.  While we seem to be able to do this reasonably easily in the silos of our life, I find it difficult to do it for life itself.  What makes me a winner as a person?  What determines if I am the best?  How do I win in the game of life?
 
In my life I have found the benchmark set and maintained through the principles of compassion, mercy, and love.  It is in this context that I understand Jesus’ words “I am Light that has come into the world so that all who believe in me won't have to stay any longer in the dark.”  (John 12.46) 
 
It is a waste to just ramble through life.  Knowing one’s calling, understanding how to win, and living life fully and completely – ah, the choices we have.