Youth Sports
Here’s something interesting about sports.
The scoreboard shows everyone who won and who lost. But it doesn’t show something that matters just as much: how people acted after the game.
Did the winning team rub it in? Did the losing team make excuses? Or did both teams shake hands and mean it?
That part — the part after the buzzer — says a lot about who you are.
Read this passage slowly.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.
Philippians 2:3 — NIVLet that sit for a second before you move.
When you win, it’s really tempting to show off. To celebrate so big that the other team feels bad. To act like you’re the greatest player who ever lived. That’s called rubbing it in, and it’s not a good look. The Bible calls it vain conceit — a fancy way of saying you’re making yourself feel big by making someone else feel small. Don’t do it.
When you lose, it’s tempting to be a bad sport. To say the refs were unfair, or the other team cheated, or you didn’t really try your hardest anyway. Those are all ways of making excuses instead of just saying “they played better today.”
The good news: both of these are skills you can learn. You can learn to win with kindness — congratulate the other team, be excited without being obnoxious. And you can learn to lose with dignity — hold your head up, shake hands, and decide to be better next time.
Those skills will serve you for the rest of your life, way past sports.
Win with kindness. Lose with dignity. Both take practice.
Is it harder for you to be a good sport when you win or when you lose? Why?
Both answers are valid. Winning badly is just as real a problem as losing badly. Don’t assume losing is the only struggle.
Win with kindness. Lose with dignity. Do both.
This devotional lands especially well immediately after a game — win or lose. The experience is fresh and the kids can connect the teaching to what just happened.