The Bronze Medal
Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment.
I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. So I urge you to imitate me. 1 Corinthians 4:8-16
I always believed that the greatest victories were not about winning but simply finishing to your best ability and accomplishing something you never thought could be done. In the 1982 Daytona 500, a motor car race, a well-known veteran of the race won in fairly easy fashion finishing over 23 seconds faster than the second-place car. However, that was not what I remembered from the race. One obscure race car driver named Joe Ruttman started his first such race and was able to finish third. When they went to interview him, you would think he had actually won. He was happy with tears of joy and expressed gratitude and thankfulness over having had a chance to contend for the win. The concept of joy having finished 3rd is interesting but also proven by a study done by the American Psychological Association years later. When studying Olympic finishers, it noted that while the Gold medalists are the happiest, the study said, “we found that third place winners tend to express more happiness after an Olympic event, than those who come in second.” The reasoning is simple. The Silver medalist tended to look up to where they could have been and what opportunities they might have missed while the person winning the Bronze medal looked at where they could have been, which was off the podium entirely. Thus, they were grateful. So, what can this teach us about our faith? The answer lies in Paul’s discussion on his role as a sharer of the Good News.
As Christ followers, we must speak from a position of thankfulness no matter what status we are in. In reading today’s verses, it appeared that Paul was doing more griping than preaching about the goodness of God. However, as the latter part shows, he spoke of blessings, patience, and gentleness in spite of the poor treatment he or others may have received for their belief. He then made it clear that his goal was not to shame those who have had an easier time. It was to remind them all things come from God, which he previously stated, “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?” (1 Corinthians 4:7b) His goal was to unite all people regardless of if they were gifted with much or little or had a relatively easy life or one filled with trials and tribulations.
All things are for God’s purpose, and as such, are to be for His will to be done. Paul’s message is one of encouragement those to remember that all things are a gift from God, and thus, the Good News is to be spread no matter our circumstance. We could be Job saying, “The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:12b) Or we could be Jacob, who stole the blessing from Esau and became wealthy only to then share his wealth with the brother he originally stole the blessing from. Regardless of the story or situation, God provides such that He ultimately gets the glory and we ultimately are rewarded. That is why Paul wrote, “And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15)
Our God is a God of abundance. That is not to say we may not be in a season of abundance for there are times where we live in scarcity. The key is to not look from a position wanting or bitterness at what others may have. It is to be grateful in all circumstances for God is good and provides for us today and beyond. Thus, we can always share the Good News. That is the spirit of Paul’s message in 1 Corinthians 4. Let us remember that no matter our position in life, we can give thanks and praise to God from whom all blessing flow. How will you give thanks to God when things are going well? How can you praise God when things are seemingly not going your way? My prayer is that no matter where we finish, we give thanks to God like we won ‘the Bronze medal.’ Amen.