Monday; October 16

Growing up when and where I did, I was intrigued by the Civil War. Being raised in the South just 100 years after the end of the War, there was still a connection to what transpired in the 1860s. The older I have gotten, the less “romantic” the War has become to me. Interestingly, a couple of weeks ago when I drove through Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for the first time, I experienced something I could have never imagined. Many people have described a hallowed feeling; but what I felt was a hollow feeling. I was overwhelmed by the sense the loss of life as I saw the gravestones. I couldn’t help but be saddened by the loss of hope and innocence of a developing nation as I drove passed the battlefields. On paper, the Union Army may have won the battle, but generations of Americans lost a lot. Families were decimated, churches were divided and communities were destroyed!

Over the last few weeks I have thought about what it means to win – and the price of victory. Whether it is a war, an election or even a personal argument; is winning worth the collateral damage it could cause? By nature many of us are competitive … sometimes that is good – and even on a few occasions, it is necessary. However, we must be careful in choosing to go into battle. Is being a winner worth what it costs us in terms of health, welfare, interpersonal relationships and maybe even our spirituality.

Let’s carefully choose what we allow to drag us into battle. Let’s be certain it is worth what we lose to become a winner.

Think About It!

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