The Scoreboard
You played well. Give yourself credit for that.
And then let’s ask a question that might be a little uncomfortable: how much of what happened last night was entirely you?
The talent you were born with. The coaches who developed it. The teammates who created the spaces. The family who made it possible for you to be here. The years of work that preceded this moment. The health to compete.
How much of the win was actually yours alone?
Read this passage slowly.
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
1 Corinthians 4:7 — NIVLet that sit for a second before you move.
Paul’s question is worth sitting with: what do you have that you did not receive?
Your physical gifts — you didn’t earn those. They were given. Your work ethic — something formed it in you, some combination of your upbringing and your character and the people around you. Your opportunity to play — millions of people around the world would give anything for the chance you have.
None of this is to diminish what you did. You showed up. You prepared. You executed when it counted. That’s real and it’s yours. But you didn’t do it alone and you didn’t do it from nothing.
The most attractive thing about a winner is when they know how to receive a win with gratitude rather than with ego. Not false humility — the kind where you deflect every compliment and act like you didn’t do anything. Genuine gratitude — the kind that looks at what happened and says: I worked hard for this, and I’m grateful for everything that made it possible.
That posture keeps you grounded. It keeps the team unified. And honestly — it keeps you hungry. Because if you know how much went into this, you know how much is required to sustain it.
Genuine gratitude looks at what happened and says: I worked hard for this, and I’m grateful for everything that made it possible.
Who’s one person — in this room or outside of it — who made last night’s win possible that probably won’t get any of the credit? Name them.
This question generates genuine gratitude and team connection. Let it go around the room if there’s time. The answers are usually good.
Receive it with gratitude. It keeps you grounded and hungry.
This devotional is about gratitude, not shame. Deliver it warmly, not with a tone that suggests winning is somehow wrong. The verse is asking a real question, not a condemning one.