Trading In My "A" Game For a "B"Attitude

O.K. so I admit it. I am a sports fan. I like to watch just about any sport (Nascar racing, golf, and football being the faves) on television or in person. My husband and I have been known to sneak away for a long weekend just to catch one of the Grand Slam tournaments in golf without being interupted by phone calls and kids wanting to know what's for dinner.
One of the things I have noticed regardless of the sport, is the term "Having his (or her) A Game". This phrase is usually reserved for the most popular players and is used to describe their performance for a particular game or event. If they played well they were said to have brought their "A" game, if not then they left it at home.
I think given the choice, everyone (myself included) would like to be thought of as "having their A game". Whether it be family, business , sports, or even their worship time, we all want to bring our best to the table. Funny thing about an "A" game though, is that it often has an unpleasant side effect called pride.
You see it happen over and over again. You bring your "A" game, things go great, many pats on the back, and you start to think "Man I'm good", "wow I did it", or "boy what would they do without me"? A self-centered focus takes control of your heart and God becomes an after thought. Even our prayer time becomes a "Me" fest with all of our attention focused on what God can do for us instead of what he desires from us.
So how do we combat this enemy called pride? While praying about this recently (as pride is an issue I struggle with myself) God led me to Matthew 5:3-11, the Beatitudes. The name alone caught my attention quickly. At first I sorta laughed thinking "Very funny God, the Be attitudes I get it", but as I meditated on each verse I realized that an attitude adjustment is exactly what I needed. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, the ones who hunger and thirst after righteousness". All of these are things that keep us Christ focused and humble before God, and there is no better cure for that nasty side effect called pride.
Now I'm not saying that God doesn't want us to bring our "A" game to the field, as he desires the best from us. But when your "A" game starts sounding like a "me" game, swallow your pride and go to plan "B".