“Money is not the only commodity that is fun to give. We can give time, we can give our expertise, we can give our love or simply give a smile. What does that cost? The point is, none of us can ever run out of something worthwhile to give.”
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Why are we commanded to give? Why does Paul make such a point of the Macedonians giving even in the midst of severe trials and extreme poverty? I think it is because God understands something about us that we often refuse to accept: we were not created to spend our lives pursuing ease and comfort. In fact, a life built around avoiding difficulty may be one of the most dangerous lives we can live.
Comfort itself is not wrong. Rest is necessary. Enjoyment is a gift. But when comfort becomes the goal, it begins shaping who we are. If my primary questions become, What is easiest for me? What requires the least from me? How can I avoid discomfort? then eventually I become exactly the kind of person I don't want to become. I become lazy instead of giving effort. I become easily discouraged instead of developing grit. I become controlled by feelings and impulses instead of practicing discipline. And perhaps most dangerously, I become concerned primarily with myself instead of living for my brothers.
That is why the four pillars of Deserve Victory matter far beyond football: effort, grit, discipline, and brotherhood. None of them are produced by a life devoted to comfort. Every one of them requires me to willingly do something difficult. Effort requires me to act when I would rather coast. Grit requires me to continue when I would rather quit. Discipline requires me to choose what is right over what is easy. Brotherhood requires me to sacrifice something of myself for someone else. In every case, growth requires moving away from comfort and toward something greater than myself.
Maybe that is part of what Paul saw in the Macedonians. Their generosity wasn't impressive because they had so much to give. It was remarkable because they gave while they were suffering themselves. Their circumstances gave them every excuse to protect what little they had, yet instead they gave themselves first to God and then to others. Their hardship did not make them selfish. Through God's grace, it became an opportunity to love.
That changes the way I think about the purpose of my own life. The goal cannot simply be to accumulate enough money, security, success, or control that eventually nothing is difficult anymore. Maybe the difficulties themselves are part of the gift. They give me opportunities to practice effort, develop grit, exercise discipline, and love the people beside me.
Ephesians says that I am God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. I wasn't saved by those works, but I was certainly created for them. That means my life isn't supposed to be spent protecting myself from everything that requires something of me. It is supposed to be poured out.
Perhaps this is what Deserve Victory is really pointing toward. Victory isn't merely getting the outcome I want. It is becoming the kind of man who can be trusted with whatever outcome comes. A man who gives effort when nobody is watching, who keeps going when life becomes difficult, who disciplines himself when an easier choice is available, and who understands that what he does affects the people beside him.
Effort instead of laziness. Grit instead of discouragement. Discipline instead of impulse. Brotherhood instead of selfishness. None of those are destinations. They are choices I have to make again today.
Maybe the question isn't, How comfortable can I make my life? Maybe it is, What has God given me today that I can give away? My time, my effort, my attention, my encouragement, my forgiveness, my resources, my strength, my love, and ultimately myself.
I can spend my life trying to preserve myself, or I can give myself first to God and then to others. One produces comfort. The other produces a life worth living.
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