When it comes to the world of sports, several cliches usually prove to be true. The first one is ‘the best team does not always win,’ and the second one is also tied to upsets and it goes ‘that’s why they play the game.’ Every year a favored team is beaten by a team with far less talent, and often these victories hinge on the unusual way the ball bounces, a foul or penalty being called, or by the lesser team playing an unbelievable game. In many instances if the same two teams played each other five more times, the favored team would win every one of them, but on the day it counted, the underdog won.
The writer of Ecclesiastes said it this way, “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happened to them all. Moreover, no one knows when his hour will come: as fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12) Nobody knows when the hour is going to come that will set or alter their course. Nobody knows when trying times may unexpectedly fall on them. This is why we have to be ready every day to live to the fullest and to make the most of the time allotted to us. If you are like me, you have never been the fastest, the smartest, the most artistic, the most talented, the funniest, or the best player on the team, but hopefully that has not kept us from giving a maximum effort or going the second mile to witness some improvement. We do not know what the next bend in the road holds, but we do know the One to whom we have entrusted our lives is in control, and He has been preparing us for that time. We do not have to be the best to be a success, but we do have to be in the game of life because ‘that’s why they play the game.’