Sunday our Pastor spoke on winning at life and related a story about how winning isn’t always about coming in first. That story was, of course, Lightning McQueen, from the movie Cars (in case you haven’t seen it), when McQueen sacrifices his sure victory to help The King cross the finish line in his final race. It was an effective reminder that “I am third.”
Cars is McQueen’s path from self-centered to selfless. It is a movie about what it means to win at being third. It is a movie about our lives.
It is hard to be third. There is a popular Christian movement that has popularized the phrase “I am second”. I get it, and I am moved by the videos they produce. I just believe that our Spiritual quest requires that we fall back into third place.
I am Third is the autobiography of Gale Sayers (and is the inspiration for the movie, Brian’s Song). The title comes from a quote from Sayer’s track coach at the University of Kansas: “My Lord is first, my family is second, and I am third.” I have an autographed copy of the book that I have treasured since my childhood.
I strive to live “I am third” (I extend the quote to include friends—i.e., neighbors/community—as in “my Lord is first, my family and friends are second, and I am third”), but fail on a daily basis. But, if Vince Lombardi is correct, “perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
Life is about winning. The great coach, Chuck Noll, said: “The key to a winning season is focusing on one opponent at a time. Winning one week at a time. Never look back and never look ahead.” Winning requires daily effort.
Lightning McQueen teaches us that sometimes winning come when we come in third.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
Carpe momento!
Image: https://www.pixar-planet.fr/dossiers/repliques/capture/cars/24.j