The Rules for Winning~ One of the most agregious identities in modern society is the idea of the 'Participation Award'. This is where children recieve a trophy or a certificate for simply showing up to an event and participating, so that no child has to go through the 'trauma' and 'stigma' of losing. There is a generation of young people today that have lived their entire lives not knowing that it is possible for them to lose, because they have been told that simply by 'being' they are all winners. This has given society a generation of people that not only do not know how to lose, but also don't know how to win. As a function of this situation there is now an identity crisis in this young population, and more importantly in the population that promotes this 'no win no lose' concept, wherein these people do not feel that they have to 'play by the rules', because where there are no rules there are no losers. The sad thing is that because there are no losers there are also no winners. This concept has spilled over into the spiritual world as well. This in not a new concept from a spiritual point of view. The concept that there are no rules for salvation has been around since Jesus went back to heaven. Jesus came to the earth to "Testify to the Truth" (John 18:37), the testimony that defined the rules of the 'game' (the Law); the rules for 'winning' salvation. Yet the Christian church was founded on the principal that "Where there is no law, there is no violation" (Rom. 4:15). Paul essentially says that everyone is a winner of salvation because there are no losers, because there are no rules (law) for salvation. Yes, there are winners and losers in this world, and in the world to come. Learn the rules, be obedient, and WIN!