What does it mean to win?  If we were to look around us, it’s easy to define.  It’s the person on top; that may be the team winning the championship game, the runner crossing the finish line first, the artist on the top of the recording list, the number one book seller, the celebrity, the person with the highest grades, the president of the company or the person in your neighborhood with the largest house and most toys.  Regardless of how you look at it, winning means someone else loses.

But is that a Biblical definition of winning?  Is that how I want to define success in my life?

This morning I heard a story about the women’s basketball team from Messiah College, a school known for its history of success in athletics.  In fact, it has made it to the championship series most of its school history.   This year was looking no different, as they started the first game of the first round of playoff.  But this year, they lost the first game 65-44 .

Despite their surprising loss, the Messiah girls did what have done after every game.  They invited the opposing team to center court to pray. And throughout the years, some teams have accepted and others have not.  However, this was one of those rare times when the accepting team had just defeated the Messiah team.

This is what the Connecticut coach said about the experience, “Messiah really caught our girls by surprise.  In athletics, oftentimes it’s always about competing, about trying to beat someone. There’s not enough honoring your opponent. What Messiah did was very moving, very touching.” One of the Connecticut players had this to say,“We were very caught off-guard,to see such amazing sportsmanship, from a team whose season just ended?”

It was so touching, the coach invited the team into their locker room to pray for individual needs of the girls.  As the Messiah girls excited the Connecticut locker room (the winning locker room), one of them asked, “Did we just lose?”  And another commented, “No, I think we just won.”  (For the full article go to Messiah Story.)

Jesus’s death on the cross, appeared like a defeat to those unjustly accusing him, and even his own followers, but in fact, He had won.  He knew exactly what He was doing and planned it ahead of time.

Paul, in describing Timothy and Epaphroditus, does not commend them for the number of people they’ve saved, sermons they’ve given or what they’ve done.  Instead, he commends them for how they have lived.  He describes them like this in Philippians 2:19-30:   Timothy – “I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.”  Epaphroditus – “my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs…Indeed he was ill, and almost died.”

I still am tempted to define winning based on whether or not I have crossed the finish line first or I am on top.  But I know, this is not winning.  Winning is following the example of Jesus who emptied himself for others.

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)