Why Does God Let Christians Lose? Part 2 of 3

God let Kurt Warner and the destined Arizona Cardinals lose a game they had in their clutches. You could almost feel the collective sigh from Christian fans round the country, "Why God?"

I submit two reasons. The first: God most definitely wants Christians to teach the world how to lose. Perhaps even more than teaching the world how to win.

Clearly, the world has mixed priorities if it believes "Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing." A quote uttered by the legendary football coach Vince Lombardi, a man many esteem. If you win, sure things are fine. But if you lose, it's as if the world has ended. I've grown quite accustomed to that feeling having followed the Seattle sports scene (I know, I know... it's sad). If winning is all that matters and you lose, then that's an unhealthy and dreadful way to live. You must have a sense of gratitude about simply playing the game to enjoy it and life.

I've poured, perhaps unwittingly, my heart and soul into Seattle sports only to be rewarded with hypertension, tears and angst. A healthy sense of reality from a Christian who loses serves to counter what I, and likely many fans and fellow athletes, have experienced. A wise loser could show us that truly life can go on after a loss and that there can be contentment even in losing (the film, Fever Pitch with Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon, illustrates this wonderfully). Furthermore, a Christian can prove that when you play for something bigger than the game, whether you win or lose is not the primary concern; glorifying God is. And if you've done that, you can go home happy.

Speaking of loss, a Christian on the losing end of a sports contest could teach us all a thing or two about real loss. It is after all only a game. There is far greater suffering in this world. There are starving children dying. There are persecuted brethren being tortured. We all need to be reminded that in the end we play sports for fun. We're not playing for our lives. For that we can all be thankful. It's conceited and shortsighted to sulk after losing a game, considering that someone in the world is probably dying at that very moment without ever having heard the good news of Jesus.

There can only be one winner. Everyone else loses. Everyone loses at least once in their life. Not everyone wins. Therefore, God reaches more people when His vessels lose. More people will be able to relate to a loser. Additionally, the empathy will truly hit home, for it's in our suffering that we grow and change the most. Character isn't defined in the midst of victory. It's defined in the midst of pain, anguish and defeat. People don't watch and relate as deeply with a winner as they do with a loser. An athlete losing with grace is a powerful statement.

Finally, as an old wounded veteran used to tell me when we played chess: "Losing is better than winning. You learn more when you lose." He's right. There really is only one race that must be won in this life. That is the race to be found faithful to the Lord. With that in mind, to say nothing of the practical lessons losing teaches, we should all be glad for the humility, character, perseverance and compassion that losing instills in us.

Yes, God wants to teach the world how to win humbly with class. But there's so much more to teach in losing; losing with gratitude, grace and peace.