Battle of the Losers
Eunhyuk Ko
W
e live in a culture where losing is the enemy. We
go to workplaces where everyone is battling for
the boss’s favor for the next promotion or we stay at
home where the battle for the remote is just as fierce.
In some cases, we grow up fighting for our survival,
both physically and emotionally. In other situations, we
find ourselves trying to win our parents’ approval and
attention, the acceptance of our peers, and validation
through a world that teaches one message. Win.
But Christ calls us to do most things contrary to what
the world and our flesh tells us. That is why for a
family in Christ to work, it needs to become a mutual
and reciprocal contest to see who can lose the most.
This was my third year going to Peru. I went when I
was young but I did not have fond memories of that
time as it was difficult; in fact it was quite awful. I
told myself I would never return to Peru. This year,
I decided pray and seek God’s guidance after some
brothers encouraged me to join the mission team.
Although I did not receive a clear “yes”, I signed up
and I was soon on a plane destined for the place I
dre aded so much.
By first few days, I could feel my past feelings surging
up again. “I should not have come, what was I
thinking?”, “Everything hurts and I am so tired.”,
“This place is infested with crickets.” I was beginning
to question why I decided to go. But as the days
passed, I felt different.
I start to notice my service was not waning. As tired
and as sore as I was, I continued to serve. But it was not
just me, our whole team did not seize serving. The team
would drive back to the hotel, drenched in sweat and dirt
covering all over us, but we did not complain one bit; we
celebrated in laughter and joy. By the end of the mission
trip, the missionaries were all competing in a very intense
match; a battle of the losers.
We each deliberately decide to place the needs of
others before their own and sacrifice the most
important thing we held onto, themselves. Losing
became our way of life in Peru.
A competition of who listened to, cared for, served,
and prayed for others the most. We gave and shared
the love God had for us with everyone we met along
the way. It was no longer our needs first, but others;
just as Jesus set aside his own needs and knelt to wash
the feet of his disciples.
When we choose to become losers,
we glorify God.
Perhaps what we need in this world is not money,
riches, resources, and fame; but to really become
a bunch of losers in a world that is torn apart in a
competition to win. When we choose to become
losers, we glorify to God!