Playing By The Rules

Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. (II Timothy 2:5)
          Ouch! A direct hit to the heart!
         Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him. Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out. (Proverbs 24:17-20)
           "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:44-45) 
         Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” (Luke 17:1-4) 
          There are other rules….

“In an inertial reference frame, an object either remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by a force.” Newton’s Second Law of Motion, which seems to me to apply to psychological as well as physical motion.   If you eat more than your body needs, it stores the excess.        These are examples chosen because of current events, and the depth of  the principle. There are many other rules, in Scripture and in nature.  The only way to win in the game of life is to keep following the rules until the end of the game. That’s the only point at which it matters who is “ahead.”