Winners and Losers

I have been invited to reflect upon one of life's tantalising questions namely, why is it that some unfortunate people seem, almost from birth to be fated to become one of life's losers in the total meaning of the word? Everything they try to do turns to dust and they invariably end up in the gutter,  metaphorically if not literally.

Of course, there often some obvious factors, a disadvantaged environment, a poor upbringing insecure and starved of affection, some weakness of character or mental disability, the influence of bad company, the use of excessive drink or drugs and possibly physical and sexual abuse. But even making allowance for such obviously harmful circumstances there are still people who, in contrast, given every advantage in life will, sooner or later,  win (ironically) the despised label of being, one of life's losers.

Perhaps the Biblical term for this category of person is someone who is lost. Jesus tells three short stories of what it means to be lost. A woman loses a precious jewel or coin from her wedding tiara; a shepherd loses a sheep from his flock and a father says goodbye to a son who has left home to live it up under the bright lights of the city. All are described as lost with the implication that their lostness isn't entirely their own fault. The coin couldn't have lost itself, the sheep probably wandered into the wilderness in ignorance, and the rebellious son was allowed to have his own way. It's all too easy to put all the blame on people themselves when things go wrong in their lives - they become a loser - they never were any good!

But the significance of those three Biblical tales is that in each case the lost was searched for and eventually found - the woman found her jewel, the shepherd his wandering sheep, and although the rebellious son did come to his senses and return home of his own volition, his father met him more than half way and threw a great feast in honour of his return. Jesus is saying emphatically, however it may look to the world, God the Father does care for the lost and will spare no effort to find them.

This search, however, with some people may go right to the eleventh hour. When Jesus, the Son of God hung dying upon the cross they had hung two thieves - one either side of him. They were real losers but whilst one continued to curse his fate, they other cried out for mercy and to him Jesus said, Don't worry, I will remember you, Today you will join me in paradise! Whilst the timing of this event may constitute a puzzle for theologians, the practical meaning is pretty clear, Brother, you are no longer a loser with me!

Jesus on a less harrowing occasion had said, If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all. This was said to a quarrelling group of so-called winners his own disciples who had been arguing as to who was the most senior and privileged in the group. To make the point further, Jesus took a small child on his knee and said, in effect, unless you have the simple trust of this child you cannot belong to me. In other words not all the success, good fortune and wealth in the world can earn one a place in God's kingdom. Perhaps, after all it is better to be a loser with God, than be a winner with the world.