Giving Up Silver

I've noticed that all humans, regardless of race or creed, seem to get teary when they hear stories of sacrifice. When one person sacrifices something precious for another person, we get all teary and mushy inside. I've decided that God hard-wired us for this, perhaps to prepare us to appreciate the ultimate sacrifice, which is stated well by Jesus: "Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Every Square Inch points us to the fascinating story of United States sprinter Shawn Crawford, who gave away the silver medal he won in the 200 meter dash in the Beijing Olympics. The person who actually came in second was disqualified for a technicality, and Shawn thought he deserved the medal. This is a story you won't want to miss.

It was just confirmed that, at the Beijing Olympics, American sprinter, Shawn Crawford gave up his silver medal to Churandy Martina, a sprinter from Netherlands Antilles. Martina had initially finished second but was disqualified for a lane violation. Shawn Crawford received the silver medal but later gave the medal away to Martina. Get this - he didn't have to do it, no one coerced him, no one would think less of him if he kept the medal. After all, "rules are rules", right? Let's map this to what it might look like in your life, or mine. Would you give up the lavish year end bonus to a co-worker because you truly thought he deserved it more? How about highlighting the contributions of one of your office "rivals", knowing that it means that he'll get most of the credit for the project? That's crazy talk, for most of us....READ MORE