The Biggest Loser

A question was posed "what don't you feel free to bring up with me?". What is my effect on you? Are you approachable with conflict? Are you the type to never speak up for fear of saying the wrong thing? Or are you the type to dominate a conversation without taking the time to listen to another view?

In a recent Biggest Loser episode, two new players worked hard from home to enter the competition almost 5 weeks into the season. The new players were sized up immediately and anything could have happened. One of the new players, Adrian, entered the competition and began talking about how easier the workouts were on the ranch than the ones he had done solo at home. He failed to listen to his teammates when told that his "prideful statements" were hurting them. His pompous attitude was a turn-off and within two weeks he was sent right back home. What was Adrian's effect on the team? It was saturated with anger, chaos, division, fighting, and loss.

That is why daily we must pray to be a "calming presence" when we enter a room.. not an angry storm... Life's adventure does not have to be a battle on every front... Maybe your a "srife-stirrer".. trust me.. it gets tiring...

Adrian could have been a hero.. the rescuer.. who swept into the ranch with the heart of a servant... was Adrian attacked? yes he was.. and wrongfully so.. walking into a new situation inherantly causes conflict.. it is what you do with the conflict that sets you apart..

If you desire to be a "rescuer", you must first be rescued.. Author John Eldredge says "True strength does not come out of bravado. Until we are broken, our life will be self-centered, self-reliant; our strength will be our own". Adrian will never know if all his past life had been but a "preparation for that hour and for that trial".

His firestorm entrance and exit will be his legacy. None of us will know how it truly ends for him. I use Adrian as an example, not to judge him, but to "weigh in" on our own hearts. Remember "there is no other man or woman who can replace you in your life, in the arena you've been called to.' 'If you leave your place in the line, it will remain empty.' No one else can be who you are meant to be.' 'You are the hero in your story'." (John Eldredge Wild at Heart)

a Kempis said it best "a man must strive long and mightily within himslef, before he can learn fully to master himself". Mastering ourselves can mean stepping to the back of the line.. putting ourselves last.. pushing others in front of us.. and working on cleaning the cobwebs of our selfish hearts.. We should all strive to be "the biggest loser" of our pride.. and the biggest "gainer" of humility..

Proverbs 18:12
Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

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