A8 - Thomasville Times - Saturday, March 13,2010
RELIGION
Reevaluating our sense of winning and losing
KEEPING THE FAITH
DOUG CREAMER
Guest Columnist
On Sunday evening
my wife and I watched
the Academy Awards.
We enjoyed watching
the red carpet fashions
and t|ie opening of the
pro^lfam when the hosts
[ their jokes aj; the
lees. It’S interest-
I see the reactions
j|,e stars as they win
adeniy award and
lear them express
^appreciation to
^wo helped them
achwe theipsuccess.
I iipagine iT must be
difficult for the actors
when they do not win the
Oscar. Part of the prob
lem is the perception
that they lost the award.
What so many stars over
look is the fact that they
were nominated for the
award in the first place.
There are many actors
who work hard at their
craft and never get ac
knowledged by receiving
an Oscar nomination.
I took my students to
the state DECA compe
tition last weekend. 1
know it’s not the Acad
emy Awards, but there
is a big stage where the
students are honored for
achieving the best in the
state. The students are
required to dress up for
the conference, so for
them it is like the Acad-
,emy Awards. They are
so nervous and excited
while they wait to see if
their name is called to
come up on the big stage.
The students get so ex
cited when their names
are called, but they are
also very disappointed if
their name is not called.
I ' il
V Find church news and
notes on Page B8
of today's Times.
:y\
For Real
Pain Therapy...
Thera-Gesic® Pain Cream
It Really Works...Compare and SAVE. |
Harvest
Pentecostal
Church
'Where Everybody Is Somebody"
120-B West Main Street
Thomasville, NC 27360
(1 Phone
’ 336 688-6034
’ «■« «■» «t ««» «s «i«>» « « « «t« «I» ■» «)»i!« « « «>«
Pastor Mike Stocks Welcomes You
I o « «(I A c* >!! >i! >: >: i!i i.'i 4 ii )! >.'> » »^
0
I To n church that transcends denominational barriers,
. j embracing all the great truths of the Bible.
Apostolic in doctrine, Pentecostal in experience! |
Acts 2:38 Acts 2:1-4
1 have been teaching for
many years, but I still do
not know how to com
fort a student who does
not win one of the top
awards. I try to explain
to the students that the
competition is fierce and
that everyone wants the
chance to advance to the
national competition.
Even though they won
proficiencies, which are
an honor to achieve at
the state level, they re
ally wanted to win big.
The concepts of win
ning and losing are
often paradoxes in the
kingdom of God. The
Bible teaches us that
the first will be last and
the last will be first. We
all like to win; it’s fun
to be the winner. In the
Kingdom, the winners
are often those who serve
others. Living according
to Kingdom principles
means that we are will
ing to give up what the
world or our society
thinks is important in
order to accomplish what
is important to God.
Jesus posed the ques
tion to His disciples,
what happens if you win
everything, if you are
wildly successful in the
world’s eyes, but it costs
you your soul? Many
people work tirelessly
climbing the corporate
ladder of success and
through dedication and
hard work achieve world
ly success. However, in
order to achieve that suc
cess they sacrifice time
spent with their family
and they give up going
to church and maintain
ing their faith. That
kind of success comes
at a very high price.
I believe that true
and honorable success
comes through investing
in other people’s lives.
Businessmen and women
have that opportunity
by providing excellent
customer service; once
again focusing on taking
care of people. True
success in the Kingdom
comes when you help
people grow spiritually
and help them connect
with God. Often caring
and helping people grow
is not financially re
warding, but the eternal
rewards will be priceless.
The question is in
whose eyes do you want
to be considered a win
ner ... in the eyes of oth
er people or in the eyes
of God? I want my life to
be invested in building
others up, encouraging
and strengthening the
faith of those I come in
contact with. As a teach
er, not only do I want to
educate my students but
inspire them to reach
for the stars. I don’t
mean financial success,
I mean success where
they invest in others and
have a positive impact
on their community. I
want them to reach their
God-given potential.
I want to encourage
you to reevaluate what
you consider winning
and losing. While it is
wonderful to be re
warded here, it is far
greater to earn rewards
in heaven. Look for ways
that you can encourage
and build others up. True
winners look to put oth
ers first, to honor and es
teem others, and to find
the good in others and to
help them bring it out.
I wish each of you the
success that comes when
you hear your Heavenly
Father say, “Well done
my good and faithful
servant. WeU done.”
Doug Creamer teaches
Marketing at East David
son High School. His web
site is located at www.
dougcreamer.com Con
tact him at PO Box 777,
Faith, NC 28041 or email
doug@dougcreamer.com.
www.tvilletimes.com
N.C.’s Largest Selection of
Wicker & Rattan Furniture
Fully Upholstered Items Also Available
Showroom Sample Sale
March 9 - March 13
• Selected Accessories 40-70% Off •
‘AsfiCey ‘Interiors
310 S. Elm St., High Point '
ITST:
556-889-7515 • Tues-Sat 9-5
TIRED OF
RATE HIKES?
SWITCH
TO PLEX
INTERNET &
KISS CABLE
GOODBYE
OUR PRICE IS GUARANTEED FOR AS LONG AS YOU
HAVE THE SERVICE — NO SURPRISE RATE HIKES.
Plex Broadband high-speed Internet offers the fastest download
and upload speeds in the triad at affordable prices.
You'll receive free installation from our top-rated customer care team, a free modern, and
free virus and spam filters. More speed, less money and one free month of servicel
Plex Lite
Plex 10 - w/FREE Wi-Fi
as low as $15/ino.
as low as $40/mo.
768 kbps download speed
10 meg download - 768 kbps upload
Plex 6.0 - w/ FREE Wi-Fi
Plex 20 - w/ FREE Wi-Fi
as low as $35/mo.
as low as $50/mo.
6 meg download - 768 kbps upload
20 meg download - 768 kbps upload
North State
COMMUNICATIONS
CALL TODAY AND GET
YOUR 1ST MONTH FREE.
PROMO CODE: GOODBYE CABLE
336.886.3720 • northstate.net/plex
shown ara tor resitlontlal service only when bundled
O 2010 Nortir State Communications
iii
siasaa;