Over the past few weeks, we have been exposed to various responses to sets of circumstances that often reveal a lot about people. But to me they have reveal less about the participants and more about the audience.
To recap the situations, we have Cam Newton, after losing the Super Bowl, leaving the press after a few short answers (personally I wasn't offended by this, I dislike all in game and pre/post game interviews). We followed that with Donald Trump in the Republican Debate (since he is in the lead in most polls and to a seemingly large group of conservatives can do no wrong, for the context of this article we will call this winning).
These instances and others have reinforced in me the fact that we have failed to teach people some basic points of dignity. I see this in the way fans yell, boo, mock, and demean the opponents at games, I see it in the way people are treated in online discussions, I see it in the lack of respect given to others who may disagree with our position. In short we have not learned how to win or lose with dignity.
The issues with respect for others would hardly be a topic for me to write about if it was only showing up in the context of the unsaved, or unchurched, but the issue is now front and center inside the group of people who call themselves "christians" ("little Christ"). How can we pretend that the Word of God is the supreme guide for all of our faith and practice, and then go out and demean those people that God created in His image? Our country, and more importantly the church, has lost the ability to have dialogue with grace, conversations that help us understand a different point of view, a different perspective. We have bought into the rhetoric that it is our way or the highway, and our passion for our rights, and positions has made those who don't share our view feeling like we don't care or love them. This is the exact opposite of what Paul was living out in Acts, he was willing to give his freedom, rights, and life away if it meant that people saw how much the Gospel was worth, and how much they were loved by God and by Paul. The value of a person isn't defined by their political affiliations or Economic or Social standing. Their value is built in because they are created in the image of God.
Losing with grace and humility doesn't make you a loser (sorry, Cam) it shows the people around you that you are living for something even bigger. So take some time to teach others by your example the right way to be compete, regardless if you win or lose.
