You win therefore I win

Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 18:3 NLT

A few young adult men have started a basketball camp at our conference center in Kansas City. It takes place at 10 am on Sunday mornings - a time that is usually earlier than most Adventists like to be up and about. It's been a real blessing seeing the interaction of the young boys and these dedicated men.

Now truth be told most of our boys are just learning the fundamentals of the game. The coaches are doing great just by keeping them from running into each other sometimes. But they are learning and getting better.

My son is 6 and he is in a group where the ages range between 5 and 8. Today I saw a really awesome sight. In my son's group they were practicing shooting. Imagine these boys using all their strength to get the ball up to the 8 foot basket. They each had a turn and I would say they were hitting on about 50% of the tries at first.

But the best part happened later on when they began to encourage each other. They began cheering each other's name as they got ready to shoot. They would congratulate one another whether they scored or missed. But when one scored the celebrations looked like the pandemonium over a game winning shot at the NBA finals. I sat in awe. Each boy got more excited for someone else's success than their own.

What if we lived like that as adults. I celebrate with such abandon when you were blessed with a job, your children did well, or you got a spiritual victory. Even if I wasn't experiencing my best day (even when I lost my job and my kids weren't acting right). I suspect we would all be winners because when you win, I win and when I win, you win.

You see those boys taught me that we are all connected. We are on the same team. Your victory is my victory and vice versa. Let's try celebrating someone else's success as if it were ours and watch us all become winners.