Believing our own spin

I recall a number of occasions when politicians were shocked to find that they lost their elections by huge margins. These politicians could not believe they lost because they were so confident of their position on the issues, and in their marketing efforts to communicate those positions. In short, they had begun to believe their own spin, and were shocked to find out that others did not believe it nearly as strongly as they did, and voted for the other candidate.

While we can clearly see this in politics, it actually happens in a lot of areas of life. I’ve known sports fanatics who were so convinced their team was going to win a national title, only to be eliminated in an earlier round. I’ve known aspiring musicians who were sure they were headed to stardom that never actually released an album. And sadly, I’ve known pastors who were sure they were going to be the next Billy Graham, and then were disappointed when their church never broke 100. When we start believing our own spin, it can lead to terrible disappointment.

Perhaps, instead of focusing on spin, we might instead focus on the motivation behind what we are trying to accomplish. If we are really focused on “winning” then failing to win really does seem like a failure. If we are focused on being the “biggest” or the “best” then failing to achieve that really disappoints us. But what if our focus was on something different?

If my motivation is to bring glory to myself, then I become very disappointed if I fail to reach all my goals. But if my life goal is to do things in the name of the Lord, giving God thanks for whatever the results are, I think it changes my perspective.

I am reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul to the church in Colossae when he said, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17, ESV). If my motivation is to bring glory to myself, then I become very disappointed if I fail to reach all my goals. But if my life goal is to do things in the name of the Lord, giving God thanks for whatever the results are, I think it changes my perspective. I can still set smaller goals, and work hard to achieve them, but I know that those smaller goals themselves will not be the real goal of my life. The real goal is to bring honor to the name of Christ as I work toward the smaller goals, and that changes everything.

I might lose an election, but if the Gospel is proclaimed in Word and deed, it is still worthwhile. My sports team may get eliminated, but if the Christians on the team displayed Christlikeness, the impact is eternal. My favorite musician may never hit stardom, but if he or she sings to the glory of the Lord, somehow it doesn’t matter how many albums are sold. If my church is proclaiming the Gospel in an effective way that is consistent with biblical teaching, then I can rest in confidence that whether 20 come to Christ, or 200, or 2,000, it brings glory to the Lord and I can give thanks to Him for His work of grace.

Let’s be careful not to believe our own spin. We will not always achieve our goals. We will not always be the best, or the winner, or the “success” as the world defines it. But we can always bring glory to the Lord and give God thanks for every step in the journey, and that will bring great comfort and joy to us both in this life, and in the life to come.

Dr. Terry W. Dorsett serves as the executive director of the Baptist Convention of New England.