Strive for golden rule instead of the gold

The Rev. Andrew Mitchell, pastor, Stull United Methodist Church, 251 N. 1600 Road:

Thirst for victory is ingrained in our way of life. Ricky Bobby, Will Ferrell’s NASCAR-racing character in the movie “Talladega Nights,” speaks for many of us when he proclaims, “If you ain’t first, you’re last!”

Forget red ribbons and silver medals – we have to be the champion. When Christians like me fail to understand what this mentality means for our faith, we end up grasping for a gold medal rather than the golden rule.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” as Jesus instructed, does not represent a typical notion of “victory” as conquering an opponent; rather, it emphasizes the need to foster relationships. This was made most explicit by Jesus when he taught the seemingly impossible ethic to “love your enemies.”

Whether in the struggle to triumph over universal evil, or in evangelistic outreach to “win” people to the faith, if what we perceive as a victory involves the conquest, domination, or worse – elimination of another person (or group of persons), it is not a victory at all! This is richly illustrated by the resurrection of Jesus after being crucified on a Roman cross. One way to understand this is that Jesus living again exposes efforts of human domination as ultimate failures of power.

So, if you ain’t first, you’re last? According to Jesus, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and servant of all.” In other words, we should lose our ego-driven lives of “looking out for number one” for the sake of creating community. When we are able to establish and maintain authentic relationships with fellow human beings, that is a victory!

– Send e-mail to Andrew Mitchell at umcpastorandrew@aol.com.

Faith and service are keys to winning

The Rev. Dan Nicholson, pastor, Lawrence Christian Center, 416 Lincoln St.:

The word “victory” is only used a dozen times in the Bible. The English word is defined as “the overcoming of an enemy or antagonist, or achievement of mastery or success in a struggle or endeavor against odds or difficulties.”

The New Testament was written in Greek, and two Greek words used are “nike” and “nikos,” which translated mean “conquest, the means of success and triumph or victory.”

The Apostle Paul uses the word in I Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

And the Apostle John uses the word in I John 5:4-5, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

According to the Bible, Christians can only truly have success and victory in this life through our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. That is why we call it the “gospel” or “good news.” The good news is that on the cross, Jesus defeated our enemy, the devil, and his victory is our victory when we place our faith in him.

All of our struggles in this life can be overcome when we place our faith in everything that Jesus has done for us. When we were children, we trusted our parents to take care of us. As Christians, our Heavenly Father wants us to come to him in “childlike” faith and trust him to take care of us throughout our lives. In terms of faith, we are assured victory when we believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

– Send e-mail to Dan Nicholson at lawrencechristiancenter@juno.com