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The Big Goal

Spring is here (sort of) and that means one thing: The NHL playoffs are just around the corner!

The NHL is divided into two conferences: “Eastern” and “Western”. The winner of the Eastern Conference is awarded the “Prince of Wales trophy” and the winner of the Western Conference is given the “Clarence S. Campbell Bowl”.

Now, there is an interesting tradition surrounding these two trophies. It states that the winning team is not supposed to touch them.

Most of the time, when a team wins anything, the trophy is passed around from player to player. That is not the case with the Prince of Wales or the Campbell trophies. Though the tradition has been broken at times (most recently by Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009), normally the team captain poses for one relatively unhappy looking photo with the trophy and then the ceremony is over. Why?

Players do not touch or hoist the conference trophies because those trophies are not their goal. Their goal is to win the Stanley Cup. Therefore, you do not celebrate until you get the trophy that you really want.

With that in mind, think about these words: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.” (1 John 2:15-16).

John is concerned that the things of this life may distract us from the really important things. In fact, one very good translation of that passage states that, “Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father”.

For most of us, that is the real problem. It is easy to be so caught up in “every day things” and in chasing after “things of this world”, that we lose sight of the things that have real value and worth.

When we pause to think about it though, we know that, “possessions” and “stuff” do not bring us long-term joy or happiness. We know that there are bigger and better things to be living for and investing our lives in.

In the end, there is only one trophy worth winning and celebrating.

“The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).

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