Compliment the Winners
...fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable. --Philippians 4:8, TEV

Philip is a member of Toastmasters, Incorporated. The other day he was telling me about the organization. In the midst of our conversation he said, “I’m a good speaker and I’m getting better.”

I like that attitude. We need more people who can honestly say things like “I’m good and getting better.” Honest self-appreciation isn’t bragging. But such people are winners. Winners know themselves, their talents and abilities, and they can honestly talk about them.

On the other hand, many of us come from a kind of Christian culture that’s always putting us down, as though we’re of no value. On the contrary, we’re God’s servants. We’re the people whom He has chosen to carry out His mission on earth. That makes us both special and unique. That makes us winners.

As we know more about ourselves and feel good about ourselves, we can recognize that we’re winners. One way we can acknowledge that we’re winners is by giving ourselves compliments.

Try this from the negative. I can remember in school when math class came along. Math has always been my poorest subject. Often when I made a mistake, I muttered to myself, “You dummy.” Throughout life I have tended to do that when I’ve done something that common sense or a little foresight could have prevented. I’ve said to myself, “You stupid jerk.” That didn’t help my self-image. Nor did it help my effectiveness with Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul exhorts in Philippians 4:8 to think on good things. One thing we can think on is the good things we say about ourselves. We can do this because we realize we have not given ourselves goodness, but we have derived our value through the love of God and through the gifts of the Holy Spirit which operate in our lives.

Let’s start complimenting ourselves. We know our strong points, so let’s acknowledge them. “Cec,” I can say, “you write well.”

I’m convinced that we believe the words we hear. Why not look at ourselves every morning in the mirror and say out loud, “I’m a winner.” Or, “I’m a good worker.” Or, “I have a lovely smile.” Or, “I’m bright and articulate.” One day we’ll believe our own words—and they’re true, too!

One characteristic of winners is that we know that we are of value to ourselves, to God, and to the world. Let’s think about the admirable qualities in our lives. We have them because we’re winners and because we try to follow Jesus Christ and want to be more like Him.

When we read the Gospels, we notice the way Jesus talked about Himself. He never made put-down pronouncements about Himself. He knew who He was. Jesus was a winner!

God, thank You for making me a winner. Thank You that I am a person. You’ve made me into a winner and I thank You. Amen.