Pray.

"We all know we're gonna reap what we sow... So why not just let us forgive everyone, everywhere, everything, all the time..."
--- mewithoutYou, "Bullet to Binary (Part Two)"

It's tricky to pray for your enemies. I mean, Jesus is pretty clear about the fact that we are supposed to pray. But sometimes it is not so easy to figure what we are supposed to pray. "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." Okay, and what exactly do I say.

Especially when those "enemies" are actually opponents. What do you pray for people that you have to face off in competition against? We want to win the match, and yet we want the best for our opponents as well. And sometimes, our opponents can make us upset, angry, feeling cheated or completely demoralized.

That's why I think there is a really important prayer for us, that Jesus teaches us from the cross. "Father, forgive them..." Sometimes, in the heat of rivalries or in the heat of competition we can easily turn bitter and angry at opponents. Sometimes when we get our own emotions and self-worth tied up into what we are doing, the game we are playing, whether we win or lose; well, at those times we can feel as if we hate the opponents who just missed a call. Or who we thought missed a call. Or played with their strings to make us get a little tighter on the next serve. Or called a line judge because they thought we might have missed a call. Or... the list goes on and on.

Holding that frustration, that unforgiveness, can be very damaging to us as people. There is a release in letting it go. There is a realization that everyone makes mistakes, we do too, and things will even up. And even more, there is a trust in God.

Forgiveness is a statement that we believe God is working in all the world to make all situations turn about for the good. And maybe he is still working in the people we've been wronged by. But forgiveness is saying that I will not take revenge, I will not try to correct the problem, but I will let God continue to work.

I mean, we need forgiveness too. Just the other day, Russell called a ball out that was clearly in. He didn't mean to. He was convinced that the ball was out. But he made a mistake. We all do. And we don't want everyone holding everything against each other.

Instead, for our part, let's do some letting go when we need to. Let's pray that we will be able to forgive, willing to forgive, and that forgiveness will be extended to us when we mess up.