Once there was a
mouse who arrived early to town in order to enter the race of the day. He looked over and examined his competition as
far as he could see all the mice were smaller than he and didn’t look very
fast. With this knowledge in hand, he
began to brag about how he was going to win the race. He was so confident he would win he even told
them how quickly he would win. He
taunted the other mice who were quietly waiting for the race to begin. As the time for the race to begin something
strange began to take place, the mice he had been waiting in line with to take
their places in the race began to be replaced with bigger rats. By the beginning of the race, he was the sole
mouse in the race. All the bragging and
flaunting of his strength and speed has gone from him now the single thing he
could feel was fear of losing the race.
The race began
and from the start he put up a fight to try to win, but it was no use the rats
were stronger, faster and more experienced than he. Another thing he noticed was the track was
not straight. It was curved with pits,
hills and obstacles. Needless to say
with great difficulty the mouse finished the race in last place. As a matter of fact, by the time he finished
the race most of the crowd had gone home.
As he was leaving
the track, he asked one of the mice in the crowd what happened to the original
mice who arrived early. His reply was, “This
is a rat’s race. Mice only hold their places until time for the race to begin.”
Many people are
like the mouse in this story. They are
full of wind and themselves when it appears, they have the upper hand, but as
soon as they realize someone else might have more than them the wind is blown
out of them. Boasting is like a balloon
filled with air eventually the air will seep out and there will be nothing left
but the balloon.
The bible tells
us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. This being said we should know who we are in
Christ and be content with what He has said about us. When you boast you put yourself on the throne
rather than God. Boasting exaggerates
the abilities of the person as well as takes credit for something that they
could not accomplish on their own. It
places the focus on the creature rather than the creator.
Life is truly a
rat race. As soon as you think you have
excelled past everyone in your circle God will allow a new person in your
circle who is more capable than yourself.
The key to
allowing His love to speak through you is to give Him glory in all you do. Some
have come to believe that giving Him glory is in mere words. In actuality giving Him glory comes from the
heart. It is the heart God looks
at. A heart that glorifies God with
success will find a way to serve others in their time in the spotlight.
Many athletes
give God glory my openly acknowledging their responsibilities to the fan base
to serve them as God’s agents on the earth.
You too can give God glory in whatever capacity He has given you. If you have been awarded employee of the
month give Him glory by speaking well of another employee. If you are the man of the house, use your
role to give Him glory by serving your family as Christ served the church.
Love Speaks well of others when the spotlight is
shone on you.
Love Challenge Day 3
Speak
well of someone to another person (ex. Tell the lead or store manager about a
good job someone performed)
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