Chasing Meaningless Victories

The United States played its final contest in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup on Thursday evening, losing to Turikye 3-2 in a thrilling and highly competitive match.

Though the result is certainly not ideal for fans of American soccer, Thursday night's lineup for the Stars and Stripes was far from the best the country has to offer.

After winning its first two group-stage games against Paraguay and Australia, the United States had already solidified its position as Group D winner before Thursday night's match.

As such, US manager Mauricio Pochettino elected to rest the vast majority of his starters against Turkiye, not wanting to increase the risk of injuries or yellow cards that could affect a player's ability to participate in the knockout round.

Following the contest, Pochettino seemed both perplexed and annoyed by some of the questions he received from members of the media.

From his vantage point, it appeared that people were focusing too much on the loss to Turkiye, while paying far too little attention to the fact that the team had won its group and put itself in a prime position to make a run in the knockout rounds.

When asked during his press conference if he believed the US had squandered an opportunity to become the first team in the history of the country to win all three group stage matches at a World Cup, Pochettino responded with a tinge of incredulity:

"Making history is winning the World Cup. It's not winning three matches only within the World Cup. I don't really understand. It's a little bit petty if you will -- you're thinking a little too small. You're telling me you could make history -- what does it mean to win three matches if you lose the next one?"

Examining things from the big-picture perspective, Pochettino is absolutely correct. Sure, he could have made different decisions that would have increased the team's chances of winning on Thursday. But is it really worth going through all of the effort to win a relatively meaningless game if you run the risk of suffering harm in the long run?  

Being a bit shortsighted in our thinking and perspective is not limited to sports. In fact, failing to adopt a proper long-term perspective is a common human malady.

Jesus addressed the issue directly when He asked one of His most pointed questions in Mark 8:36 (ESV): "'For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?'"

This issue is very evident among unbelievers. Apart from Christ, people will inevitably focus on this life, missing out on the life to come, which is infinitely more valuable.

But being shortsighted in our perspective can also plague us as followers of Jesus. Although we know that we are ultimately living for eternity, we can easily fall into a mindset that is more temporal and earthly than it ought to be.

In Colossians 3:2 (NIV), the Bible commands believers to "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

The very fact that this is a command in Scripture indicates it’s a common struggle for believers. After all, if it always came naturally to us, there would be no reason to command that we set our minds on things above. 

If we are not intentional about regularly thinking that we are living with heaven and eternity in view, we can very easily begin to make decisions more geared towards earthly ventures.

We can begin to have misplaced priorities that lead us to focus on things that aren't really that important in the grand scheme of things. At the end of the day, it could even cause us to forfeit long-term, meaningful success in favor of a few "meaningless victories."

Jesus' question in Mark 8:36 is powerful, but here are a couple of questions for us to consider as followers of Jesus:

• What does it profit to achieve status in the workplace and forfeit a healthy marriage?

  
  

• What does it profit to allow our children to participate in as many activities as they desire, yet fail to properly train them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord?

  
  

• What does it profit to have a flourishing bank account, yet fail to steward those resources towards things that impact the kingdom?

  
  

• What does it profit to enjoy the temporary satisfaction of scrolling on our phones and forfeit the long-lasting peace and joy that we can only find in sweet communion with God?

As followers of Jesus, we must be intentional in how we live our lives. Do the decisions that we make indicate that we are living with a heavenly perspective, or do they show that we might be focusing too much on "meaningless victories"?

Today, let's remember that we are ultimately not living for this life, but for the life to come. More than being citizens of earth, we are citizens of heaven who long for the day when we will be with our King forever (Philippians 3:20).

As we remember those truths, let's reorient our lives to demonstrate our focus to win in the areas that truly matter for the glory of God.

I'm Matt Osborne, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please help me to live my life focused on the things that matter in eternity. Please show me where I have gotten off track and give me the strength to focus my attention on what is truly significant. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.