When I was growing up, there were clear winners and losers. I played Little League. When I first tried out, I wasn’t good enough; I didn’t make it. I got stuck in the minor league. It was terrible. But I worked hard and made the team the next year. And that team made the play-offs and beat an undefeated team to be champions. If the team that we’d beaten in Little League had gotten the same prize we did, I don’t think I would have been very happy. Today, many of our kids get trophies or metals for just participating. What’s that teaching them? Today, these kids—now adults—don’t know how to deal with defeat. We need to let our kids fail. It’s okay. It builds character.

Suggested Reading: Isaiah 40:29