"It matters a great deal who is going to win, but not at all who won"
Forgetting the past
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13, 14As I was watching the Masters Golf Tournament a few years ago, I was struck by something Tiger Woods’ former coach said. “Tiger is better that anyone I know at forgetting a bad hole”. He went to say that one it has happened Tiger realizes that he can do nothing about it so he just moves on and forgets. It is a great ability. And in golf, perhaps more than in most sports, your mistake remains with you, part of your score.
Paul wanted to develop the same attitude, of forgetting what had happened. He is saying, “Don’t be affected by the past – move on. Don’t live in the past, live in the future.”
We all have disappointments and failures in the past. The big question is how do we deal with them? If it is sin, we need to ask for forgiveness and move on. If it was just a bad experience, we need not to dwell on it. We need to look forward not back.
Many times in our sporting career things have not gone as we wanted. We concede an early goal, we even lose the game. While we can and need to learn from the experience, we also need to recognize that it is past. There is nothing we can do about it. There is no point in dwelling on it and being depressed by it. We are to forget what has happened and cannot be changed.
In sport, the prize is the next game. In life the prize is the heavenly calling in Christ. So in sport and life let us strive forget what is past and stain for what is present and is to come.