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If your first thought on reading the title is, “Don’t call people names.”, you’re in the right boat. As Christians we’re called to love everyone and not call people names.
Who is a loser though? What do you think of when someone calls someone a loser? Most people think of someone who lacks talents our society finds appealing like excellence in sports. However, we know it is possible to lose in sports even though you have a superior team.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 “I realized another thing, that in this world fast runners do not always win the races, and the brave do not always win the battles. The wise do not always earn a living, intelligent people do not always get rich, and capable people do not always rise to high positions. Bad luck happens to everyone.” (GNT).
Sometimes people call unemployed people losers for instance. But that person might be wise, intelligent, and college educated. We see that error on a regular basis today. So the first thing to take in is,”Don’t listen to everyone valuing your worth! Even people whose opinions count highly to you can accidentally say something hurtful.” Remember that the determination of your value is what you’re worth, and God clearly shows us that because Jesus Christ saw it worthy of sacrificing His life for us, we know we have an incalculably high value. It is hard to not value someone else’s opinion, but it’s worthwhile to make it a habit not to overvalue them. For some people, anyone acting like a jerk to them can put them down. God bless the people with thicker skin though who can let that slide off. That’s why we need to rely on God, and provisions such as His full armor, to be able to do this effectively. [Read: Ephesians 6:10-20].
Occasionally we hear people assuming those who live with their parents are losers. But who is the bigger loser, the guy who lives with his parents, or the guy who spends half his paycheck in rent when he could be living with his parents and saving? There’s no problem with spending half or more of your paycheck in rent if you need to, but if you could be saving for yourself or helping the poor, its foolish. In the end each person has to exercise personal discretion given their immediate circumstances, but it is imprudent to judge either route harshly. Particularly when we don’t fully understand the surrounding circumstances that pertain to each decision.
It is possible to be lost in your sins now, but does that make you a loser? In consideration of eternity, only God knows for certain. Maybe some day God will draw you nearer to Him, and you’ll take up the privilege of getting your act together. We’re definitely winners in Jesus though, as we know we’ve already won the war eternally, despite losing battles from time to time.
I wanted to post this because labeling yourself a loser is as bad as a person who labels themselves bad at math, or any other such negative mindsets. It can become a self-fulfilling prophecy since the kid who says he’s bad at math won’t make serious attempts to learn, and the guy who labels themselves as a loser doesn’t try as hard as they should in areas where they may even have an aptitude to potentially excel. Don’t label yourself as a loser, and if you’ve held that mindset before let it go. We’re all winners in Christ. People who look like they’ve had bad results in the past doesn’t mean they are necessarily bad at those endeavors. Even the most talented people in the world have failed, in fact learning from our failures is pivotal for future growth. The key is that we learn from our failures and push forward with newly learned lessons. With Jesus, we have a better eternal future than even our best moments on life. I hesitate to say,”Think when you’ve been lucky in life” because its a euphemism and could make people laugh. Think of the best time you had on Earth, and know it will pale in comparison to every moment you’ll have in Heaven.
The Bible says not to pray to anyone but God, and God has the final say. So luck is something mankind sees as results oriented outcome, but luck in itself doesn’t really exist. You can pray for someone to be lucky, but really what you’re doing is praying to God for good fortune and he’s translating for you. When I wish someone good luck, what I’m really wishing is that God shines his blessing on them. Now when you’re competing with other individuals, and your praying to win which makes them lose, I’m not sure how those prayers land to God. I think it is more important to pray for gain in non-competitive environments when your gain isn’t someone else’s loss. Praying for God to help you make the right decisions is also a good idea, as though choices may or may not materialize into the optimal results from our vantage point, but we can rest assured that we put our best foot forward.