Who is Number One?

Those who know me, know that I love to watch tennis.  I love to play also, although I am not very good at it.  For the past 2 weeks, I have been watching the Australian Open.  As the days passed, and players advanced to the next rounds, discussions arose about who would have the number one ranking. These discussions got me to thinking about just how much the world is consumed with being number one.

In our society, we see so much emphasis placed on being number one. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be the best that you can be.  But too often, we see that people will do anything to attain the number one ranking – lie, cheat, steal, and even kill.  Why is this?  It’s because it is more about seeking the praise and recognition of people, and the riches that accompanies it, than it has to do with the personal satisfaction of knowing you are the best you can be. You don’t have to be ranked number one to be the best you can be.

Wouldn’t it be great if we, as Christians, strived to be the best Christians that we could be? Who’s striving to be number one in this area, in the kingdom of God?  Those who truly strive to be the best at what they do, put in a lot of time and effort, training and practicing, honing their skills.  What if we, as Christians, did the same to enhance our spiritual growth and maturity to become more and more like Christ?  But unlike the world, we are not in competition with others; we are not trying to be better than someone else.  We are actually striving to be better than we were last week, last month, last year. We are striving for our personal best.  I remember when we put our kids in a summer swimming program one year. They received ribbons for their improvement, for swimming faster than they did in the previous event, for achieving their personal best.

I’ve learned that I don’t have to be better than anyone else to be number one.  Achieving number one in the kingdom of God is all about achieving your personal best.  What are you doing to achieve your personal best?

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Deborah Watkins
“At Your service to do Your Will”
Deborah.Watkins@fosmessenger.com