HAVE YOU EVER...played a game?

We grew up playing games in our house.  My Dad always had a deck of cards with him.  We played “7 Up”, “Go Fish”, and "UNO". We also liked "Yahtzee".   My husband and I love to play “Farkle” and “Poker”.  In college “Spades”  was the game to play. 

My kids have tons of games.   They will not play them together unless someone plays with them.  They play until everyone has lost.  That means there is a 1^st place, 2^nd place, 3^rd place, etc.  When we played games there was a winner and we just played again. They make sure that there is a loser.

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.  Matthew 23:12

HAVE YOU EVER… taught your child to lose?

At schools now, you cannot play games where there are winners.  It is not politically correct.  Someone always feels left out or mad or sad.  Give me a break.  When I taught in public school we had this amazing P.E. teacher who taught about good sportsmanship EVERYDAY!  I learned so much from her.  I need to ask her to move into my house for a week and give my kids an attitude adjustment.

I am so tired of the tears and yelling.  Everyone is a CHEATER!  My oldest yells, “Whatever” or “Come On!” every time he misses a basket.  My youngest wants to quit half way through if he knows he is going to lose.  Someone else (who shall remain nameless) blames everything on the refs.  

Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.  
Proverbs 25:27

I take fault in this too.  Maybe I let them win too much when they were little.  Maybe I wasn’t using the correct vocabulary from the start; like “good game” or “better luck next time.”  Something is going to change in our house.  I am teaching good sportsmanship.  This has sadly started with me having to continuously call my children “bad or poor sports”, but if you have any ideas feel free to pass them along. 

HAVE YOU EVER been a good sport?
 

Galatians 5:25-26, Philippians 3:14