Certain things are a shame. Other things prove way greater, a tragedy. Do the following dozen resonate with you?

Things that are a SHAME:

• Losing at the buzzer after leading the whole game
• Pitching a no-hitter and getting beat
• A season-ending injury
• Burning the food you just cooked
• Walking out of a ball game early, thinking it's over, only to find that the outcome proved different
• Hard work without talent

Things that prove to be a TRAGEDY:

• Talent without hard work
• A great opportunity squandered
• Cheating to win
• Preaching holiness but practicing hypocrisy
• Success without humility
• Zeal without knowledge

What's your favorite entry? Got any good ones to add?

In today's Scripture we find the story of a tragic king. Everything on the second list proved true except for the first bullet. The result was kingdom shrinkage, not expansion. The growth the king hoped for never happened because the shame he tried to avoid turned into tragedy instead. Pride, incomplete obedience and an unbridled bent toward deception proved his undoing.

Athlete, are you keeping your pride in check? Practicing incomplete obedience? Are you deceiving and being deceived?

Prayer to consider today: LORD, keep me in check. Help me avoid real tragedy. Take away the blind spots that my pride and incomplete obedience can cause. Don't let me lead a life of deception, especially self-deception. Jesus, infuse me. Spirit, empower me. For Your glory and my joy in You. Amen.