Joy: Competing for Third Place

“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”    —Luke 2:10

I reluctantly joined two pick’em football leagues this fall. I say reluctantly because I am not that detailed of a person to deal with all 32 football teams in the NFL. Secondly, I do not really have time to select winners and losers for each week. I joined both leagues so I could share in my family’s and the church staff’s lives. No money was involved so I was not gambling. I signed up, picked the first week’s winners, and then forgot to pick the next two weeks. I immediately found myself in last place. I am currently in 8^th place out of 11 in one league. The bottom three have stopped playing. I am in 14^th place out of 17 in the other league.

Just like the Steelers, I am certainly out of the running to win any prizes. I feel like I’m playing for third place. How do you push on and play your best when you know you have no hope of winning the grand prize? In the pick’em leagues, since I may not even overtake the person directly ahead of me, I am playing for weekly wins. A few times I have come in second in my weekly picks. I find it almost as enjoyable as competing for first place.

Many of you probably remember Brian Piccolo, a running back for the Chicago Bears. He was a roommate and running mate of Gale Sayers. Brian died from cancer in 1970 after playing four seasons with the Bears. His story is portrayed in the movie, Brian’s Song, and described in Gale Sayers’ autobiography, I am Third. The title of Gale’s book comes from his personal credo, “The Lord is first, my friends are second, and I am third.” Playing for third reminds me of a definition I once heard for joy: put Jesus first, yourself last, and others in between.

The angels announced the birth of Jesus Christ to lowly shepherds watching their sheep on the hillsides of Bethlehem. Shepherds are considered lowly because they are generally the youngest, uneducated folks with the least potential for success. The shepherds were in the fields doing their job out of the spotlight of glamour and public acclaim. The angels told them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” Can lowly shepherds have joy? If they have no hope of coming in first place in the game of a prestigious life, can they still find joy? The answer is a resounding, “Yes!” In Jesus, they can.

Our world is desperately seeking happiness. We are happiness junkies. The problem with making happiness our goal is that we are looking for it at the wrong end of joy. True, lasting joy comes from putting Jesus first and others second. Seeking our own personal happiness first puts our needs and enjoyment before everything else. The result is usually unhappiness rather than joy.

How do you compete in the game we call life when you know you will never be on the winner’s platform? You may be fortunate to come in 13^th out of 17 if you work very hard. You compete for a higher eternal prize. The prize is knowing the Lord and His power in this world and the next. The joy of Jesus comes from serving the Lord through an intimate personal relationship with Him, and serving others out of the overflow of His love. How is your joy level this Christmas season? If you compete for third place, I am certain your life will be full of the joy of the Lord and overflowing.