OF LOSING AND WINNING

(Gnojip's Momus)

 

|By Paul John Nuguid

 

For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you…” Jeremiah 29:11

 

This has been my favorite bible verse since I started attending Sunday service. It has motivated me to continue with what I am doing even though I am carrying weights that are heavy. It has also made me an optimist kind of person, a person who always tries to see the bright side of everything.

Once in a while I have been wondering about my path of life and about where I am really going. Some say that life has two paths; the path of losing and the path of winning. If we really want to be successful in life, we should not ask for the winning path, instead, we should accept whatever came our way so that we will be strong enough to face anything that may occur during our way to success.

 

Of losing faith and trust

Nobody can measure one's faith to someone.

 

But sometimes, we forget and deny the faith we have to someone if that person is failing on his task and judge someone. But that's not the way we should be as individual. We should not lose faith and trust to someone based on his actions. Instead, we should always think that every person has his own unique strengths and weaknesses.

 

People always tend to judge a person based on what he's doing. Due to this, the person being judged loses his confidence and starts not to believe in himself.

 

That's when the path of losing occurs. The time when an individual loses his faith and trust not only to other people but most especially, to himself. He becomes a pessimist and always thinks that he cannot make a thing right. It’s a time when an individual also thinks that he’s not worthy to live and treats himself as a total mess to everybody.

 

This situation is not a sign of giving up, we should always remember that He (God) is not giving us challenges that we cannot accomplish. He just wants us to realize that he is forming us and preparing us for our future lives. Let’s also remember that we will never be successful if we didn’t experience failure.

 

Losing is not the end, it is the beginning of a brighter tomorrow a person has.

 

Of winning the prize of becoming better individual

Winning does not necessarily mean getting something as a prize. Sometimes it shows the changes that happened in a person. Winning does not mean “What do we get in return?”, if we think that way, then we’re not really winning, we’re being eaten by our desires and aspirations.

 

From all the experiences we have, we encounter trials that make us stronger and braver to face more challenging trials heading our way.  Surpassing all the trials is an achievement that cannot be taken by anyone.  Those things help us in becoming a new individual.

 

Winning is about what we’ve done, what we’ve sacrificed for the benefits of others. It is about the fulfilment of something without asking anything in return. It covers the ability of an individual to help others even though he/she also needs something. It is about helping without measuring what you’ve done and what others do not. Winning is also accepting the criticisms you hear in order to improve yourself.

 

A fulfilled person has no room for self-praising.

 

Finally, winning is having a gift spiritually from Him that made you a better individual. Just use your gifts wisely and you will surely win the prize of becoming new in His eyes.

 

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We cannot make anyone win or lose but we can help them feel that they are a winner or a loser. Losing or winning is not totally a big deal, it’s just that once we are named “winner” we always feel superior and we always take advantage of that instance to use those ‘losers’ in doing what we want.

 

Losing and winning is like rich and poor where we put sympathy on the poor because they can’t afford to buy such expensive things.

 

But let’s not forget that even though we failed and did not succeed, that does no matter at all. What’s important is that God loves us all, whether we win or lose in the battle of life, He still loves us unconditionally and equally.

 

“For God so love the world that He gave us His only begotten Son, that whoever believe in Him shall not perish but have an everlasting life” - John 3:16