Daniel: Being Number 3

Number one is God. Number 2 is everyone else. Number 3 is you.
Daniel said, “How about a prayer first?”
Jerry got up, grabbed a blanket, sat down on the couch, and invited me to sit next to him. When prayer was over, I said to him, “Jerry, the thing that is causing you so many problems right now is that you’re trying to be number one instead of number three. You want to be noticed, and behaving as you are now doing will get you noticed, but it won’t be the attention you want. You want to be noticed with love, and you can only achieve your goal by being number three. It’s the law of retaliation. The more love you can share with others, the more you’ll receive, and in the end, you will receive much more than you have given.”
“Really?”
I laughed. “Really. In basketball you don’t even realize how generous you are; you are totally unselfish. You will pass up an open shot to give your teammates an opportunity from a better position. You don’t even think about it; you just do it. Your teammates love and respect you for your thoughtfulness. You are the best shooter on the floor, and they will turn to you when the game is close, but you allow them—no you help them— to become a part of the glory. And even if a player misses an easy layup, you always go over and give him words of encouragement. You are number three on the court, and as a result you’re number one in their hearts.”