The Will to Win
In a previous message, “Why We
Race” I commented that “competition is not bad, but the love of glory solely
for your own vanity, recognition and advancement, at others’ expense, can be
troublesome.” Displaying “a
mastery of machine and speed”—gifts from God to you that gives God pleasure—is good.
Putting others in danger by your selfish behavior is not good.
Almost every race driver has the “will
to win”—Competition pushes us to our best. Pursuing a goal with great intensity
can be good, but it sometimes leads to more pain than gain. When the “will to
win” causes actions that seek your advancement “at others’ expense”—you may be
in dangerous territory when it comes to your spiritual welfare and in racing
you may even be exposing yourself to unexpected physical danger—especially in
open wheel formula cars where wheel to wheel contact can launch both cars into
the air.
If you are a racing competitor,
sooner or later, you will come up against an “overly aggressive” driver. You know the type—their “will to win” is
strong and they tend to use their car as a means to intimidate you. They
threaten to, or actually do deny you “racing room”. Sometimes they justify their
behavior with an attitude of “that’s racing”.
(In SCCA, denying “racing room” is a serious offense and is not
tolerated. Penalties include suspension from driving.)
The most important decision for
you as a Christian, is how to respond. It’s
the same set of choices you have in life when confronting a bully: A) Allow the behavior and be submissive; B)
Fight Back; C) Run-away; or D) Seek the assistance of those with the
responsibility to dispense justice.
For most of us, there is a strong
temptation to defend ourselves by fighting back. If the other guy leans on us
or cuts us off, we want to lean back or practice “pay back”—a “tit for tat”
strategy. The Word of God clearly tells
us that this would be wrong behavior among individuals. (In SCCA, it is your
responsibility to do everything possible to avoid “contact” so ‘holding your
ground” can be a serious offense just like denying racing room.) But scripture nor
the SCCA GCR does not tell us to allow others to intimidate us and does not
necessarily tell us that we should run away from a bully.
While the majority of New
Testament scripture teaches pacifism (better to suffer violence than to commit violence)
there is also an indication that a forceful response is sometimes
appropriate. The story of Christ driving
the moneychangers from the temple (John 2:14-15) comes to mind. In Luke 22, Jesus tells his disciples “whoever
has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one” to defend themselves and others.
(It should also be pointed out that he soon after told them that “those who
live by the sword will die by it”—indicating that violence should be avoided whenever
possible.) In the Book of Revelation,
when Christ returns, he will be prepared to do real battle against evil. The distinction, I believe is that we are
never to take revenge personally, but we are to be strong, standing up and
resisting evil---trusting in God and those with God given authority and
responsibility to dispense justice. And, while doing so, always loving others
as God loves us.
Recently, while racing my FV, I was
given a chance to be tested by a competitor who had a very strong “will to win”
and was quite willing to use his car as a means to try to intimidate. I’ll let you judge my response for yourself—it’s
sort of like a parable. His identity is
unimportant—the story is one that invites contemplation and important learning.
We had raced each other before—the
last race I won, I finished ahead of him by only inches. At turn one on the first lap of the qualifying
race this weekend, we were side by side and he cut across my line. I braked
heavily to avoid hitting him. When
drafting me on the straight, instead of pulling over only after he fully
passed, he moved toward me while next to me.
On the last lap, when were side by side in a turn, he moved toward me so
aggressively, I had to evade and drove with two wheels off the track. (When
confronted about this he later said he was just driving “his line”.) I set him up for a last lap pass at start
finish and as I came beside him, he moved toward me—I had to evade and drove
with two wheels off the track again. (Lot’s of witnesses on this one.) He won the race by a few hundredths of a
second.
As mentioned, SCCA rules say it is
my responsibility to avoid contact—so I was right to drive off course as long
as I could maintain control. I was right
to brake hard when he cut me off. After
the race, the driver came over and told me that an observing driver told him he
deprived me of racing room, so he gave me a sort of half hearted apology,
saying “Ray told me I should have given you a little more room—I’m sorry”.
I thanked him for and accepted his
apology, told him that I forgave him, but also warned him that his behavior had
put BOTH him and I, as well as others, in great danger. I warned that we had almost touched wheels
when he “came over” on me and that sooner or later if he kept driving the way
he did that day, sooner or later, he was likely to touch wheels and go airborne.
(I like close racing but denying racing room puts both open wheel cars in great
danger.) I told him that he had not shown any indication that he understood the
seriousness of his behavior, so my prayerfully considered decision was that I
would withdraw from Sunday’s race (I was to sit on the pole.) and would not
race with him. I hoped my decision would
cause him to see the seriousness of his actions and inappropriate attitude. And,
that over time his “will to win” would be tempered by his new understanding and
appreciation regarding the dangers of denying others’ racing room. See video below showing conflict between German Michael Schumacher and Brazilian Ruebens Barrichello.
Keep in mind, this was a very
difficult decision. I had “stood up to” and resisted his actions without any
threatened active “payback”. My “passive”
action/response was however quite visible to others—so others understood clearly
that I considered my competitor’s driving to be putting himself and others in
danger. Some could see that as judgmental
and unkind to him. (One of his family members said as much to me.) I saw it as consistent
with teaching in Matthew 10, where the Apostles were told to walk away and
shake the dust off their feet. It was
difficult for me because it deprived me of the very competition that I sought
by registering for the event—I had not paid and entry fee, prepared the car and
driven to the track with the intention of missing out from running Sunday’s main
race. (I am still sad to have missed out on a day I had been looking forward to
for some time—I really enjoy racing.
God did provide a blessing by an improved turnout for Sunday’s Pre-Race Prayer
Meeting—the main reason why I am at the track. Perhaps also, part of the “test”
was to insure “winning” a race was not as important to me as doing God’s work
and fulfilling his will.) My take was
that “in the balance”, our post race “conflict”
did the other driver no real harm (He won Sunday’s race.) and given the
potential future consequences of his continued driving “style”, my response was
more loving, from a Christian perspective, than just accepting his apology and
dismissing the seriousness of the matter. And I kept the whole thing in the “unofficial”
realm—for now.
So what about next time? Next time, with this particular competitor,
if necessary, I will use the SCCA GCR’s clear procedure for dispensing
discipline: I will “seek the assistance
of those with the responsibility to dispensing justice.” And, I will put my
trust in God who protects and gives justice to those that love him.
Read Psalm 91 and 2 Thessalonians 1-3,
Remember that the Will to Win comes from God, but we should
never let that aspiration allow us to violate God’s commandment to love one
another—on and off the track.
Blessings,
Chaplain Wayne Strout
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