On 2 May 2003, my daughter  Melissa’s secondary school paid her a great honour by dedicating its new sports field in her memory. At the ceremony to mark the opening of the Melissa Branon Memorial Football Field, the school unveiled a stone marker to remind future generations of the girl who wore number 11.

On that marker is etched: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:2 niv)—a verse Melissa had marked in her Bible.

So often in life the words humble and gentle don’t seem to belong. Instead, the words pride and harshness mark the way success is measured. Yet Melissa and her friends were able to compete successfully in secondary school sports without displaying either of those characteristics.

One of Melissa’s teammates wrote of her: “The way you never backed down, always kept going, and never gave up totally inspired me.” That’s how she and her teammates played for God’s glory—without arrogance.

Competition, handled properly, can have its place in our lives. But we should always remember to be humble and gentle in everything we do. We must reflect the characteristics of a Christ-like life.

Author

Dave Branon

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