A “church book” I was reading this week was talking about congregations that “keep score”. This wasn’t about budgets or baptisms; rather it was saying that “score-keeping” is good because it drives us to set objectives and then aim to meet them. I know what he meant, but the “score” concept rubs a bit funny.

The point, however, transfers to personal life in a way that rubs differently–in a way that it should likely rub. It called me back to a quest for excellence in whatever we do, a call to work at “it” with all of our hearts, a reminder to envision whatever we do as an offering unto God Himself. In that sense, man, I want to play to win–to push hard and to demand more of myself… not because I need to earn approval from anyone high or low, not because I crave an ego-stroking, but simply because if I have anything to offer that could be good, noble, pure, encouraging, positive, or reflective of God in any way… then He’s asking for it.

And that could certainly lead to a higher form of victory than anything that mere cynicism has ever offered.