Little Leaguers Put Winning into Right Perspective

I finally made it. I attended the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. I have watched the games on television for decades and hoped to one day sit in the stands of Volunteer and Lamade Fields to watch the best Little League teams from across the United States and the best international teams from as far away as Tokyo, the Czech Republic, and Australia. It is a tournament that brings 20 teams together, ten representing the U.S. and ten international teams to demonstrate the finest in sportsmanship and each player’s pursuit for personal best.

On day one of the 11-day tournament, the Caribbean team from Aruba faced the team from Tamaulipas, Mexico before a packed stadium with 6,824 in attendance. It was a nail-biter and hard-fought, but Mexico ended the game with a no-hitter. Early in the game, the Caribbean pitcher was struggling and threw a pitch that hit the batter. The player went to first base, medical staff met him, and concerned coaches stood by, but they weren’t the only ones standing with the hit player. The Caribbean pitcher was there. After the player was given the okay to play, the pitcher who had thrown the wild ball stepped in and the players hugged.

Now ten days in, players representing Texas are playing the team from Hawaii. The bat cracks, and pitcher and catcher dart to catch the short popup. Both reaching for the ball, they stumble, tripping over the other’s legs, and fall to the ground. The pitcher rises from the ground with ball in glove but immediately turns to his teammate to make sure he is not hurt. A shoulder hug and a nod puts them back on the field and the game continues.

The Little League players recite a pledge before every game. The boys pledge to trust God, love their respective countries, and keep their laws. They commit to playing fair as they strive to win, but win or lose, each player pledges to do his best.

In Acts, Luke records Paul’s words as he testifies to the elders of the Ephesus church, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace (NIV 20:24).”

It is Paul who writes to the Colossians, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (3:23).” In Paul’s analogies of the racer, there is never a competitor that needs to be defeated. The focus of the race is not about beating another person, it is focused on the runner, his race to the finish line. Paul urges his readers to give their best to complete the course.

In the recent movie Young Woman in the Sea, real-life actor Daisy Ridley portrays Gertrude Ederle, who swims the English Channel and becomes the first woman to cross the span, breaking the time of the previous four male swimmers. But the power of the story is not that she succeeds on her second attempt after her first try was sabotaged by her male coach; it wasn’t that she would be the first woman of many who would take on the mammoth task and make the swim from France to England; and it wasn’t that she obliterated male swimmers’ times by more than two hours or risked her life, lost in the shoals off the English coast. No, the story is about one person achieving her personal best and finishing. For Ederle, it wasn’t about winning or beating an opponent, it was about something greater.

When Ederle commits to going back into the Channel waters her second time, she tells her coach, “I need you to promise me something Mr. Burgess. Don’t let anyone take me out of the water, no matter what.”

Her coach understands. He had swum the channel. He had taken on the challenge that pushed himself to the point between life and death and completed the course—and he promises.

Last week as I sat in the stands of Volunteer Stadium as a spectator, I was reminded we do not compete against flesh and blood. It is my task, my race, to be faithful to my calling. Winning is not about beating someone. Winning is about being my best, surrendered, usable by the Spirit, and glorifying to God. The victory is in finishing. The words of Paul to Timothy make my heart beat faster, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Tim 4:7).”

May we run as unto the Lord, giving our best.

Written by Jim Edminson, Editor of Charity & Children