After completing my day of teaching tennis, I have been watching the Olympics. Every aspect of my life recently has been focused on winning, whether it is teaching my students how to win at a sport I have been playing for 35 years, or watching the single-minded competitors at the 2010 Winter Olympics. I shuddered in fear when watching the Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer lose the gold medal because he listened to the erroneous advice of his coach to change lanes, causing a disqualification after Kramer crossed the line in first place. Mentally, I put myself into both positions, the coach and competitor, and wondered how I would respond. It would be devastating. Amazingly, the disappointed Kramer immediately made a statement saying he would stick with his coach! Why does God put us in positions where we will fail?
As stated in the devotional from yesterday, those failures teach us patience. What is patience? It is the ability to take a large quantity of punishment without getting angry, or without taking vengeance. Greek is one of the largest languages, if not the largest, and in Greek, almost every word has an opposite. Interestingly, the opposite of revenge is meekness. The Bible speaks much of meekness, and many Bible teachers remind us that its meaning is not weakness, but power under control. Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Colossians reminds us what attributes we should have as believers:
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Colossians 3:12-14
We know these are attributes of God and attributes of His Son, who walked on this earth. Jesus said,
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Many people defend their angry actions, saying it was “righteous anger,” and point to Jesus turning over the tables of vendors in the Temple. Notice that Jesus was not offended by what the vendors had done to Him, but by what they had done to His Father’s temple. I also remember a verse stating, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Jesus was sinless, and we are far from that immeasurable trait. Instead of fighting against the people we believe have wronged us, we should leave that to the Lord. After all, Paul reminds us,
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
Romans 12:19
Each time you fail, look back and see how you handled that failure. Was it with patience or was it with anger? By looking at my failures, I can tell that I have a long way to go before God is done with me!
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