Why Should I Quiz?

Why should you quiz? Many quizzers get so caught up in the competiton and fun of quizzing that they don't realize why quizzing is so important.

I had a thought while I was thinking of what to discuss in this article. It was, Do you ever think that God puts the competition part of quizzing to get young people/teens to study His word? Think about it for a moment, makes sense a little doesn't it? The fun and excitement of quizzing brings you into the Word. The competition isn't important, for we are all winners when we study the Bible.

The Ottawa Rookie Team this year, is a perfect example of the competition part of quizzing, and how little it matters...

As you may or may not know, The Ottawa Rookie Team, going into the February Quiz, was 20-0. We were doing excellent after the January Quiz, and our morale was at an all time high. I (Kevin), who topped the league in average, and my sister Amanda, who was 4th in the standings, led us to the successful year so far.It seemed like no matter how far we were down, or how bad a quiz seemed, we always prevailed.

But the February Quiz would be a different story...

Considering we were nine games in first place and had a feeling of being unstoppable, our team fell back a little bit and didn't study as much as we once had. Who needed to study when we believed we could pull out any quiz? We were defeated three times at the February Quiz in three very close quizzes, quizzes that under normal circumstances, we would have won. Since we didn't study as hard, we didn't know the key question at the key time. The first we loss was right before lunch, and considering we didn't leave for lunch (We were going to Ryan's afterwards) we had an hour to soak in what had happened. The Ottawa Rookie Team, suffer a loss? It seemed unreal to the team, the coaches, and to anyone who had heard about it. The morale was horribly low, self-esteem sunk, and the ride seemed to be over. Our undefeated season was over. In that quiz, I jumped when we were down 10, and missed the final question. I had led our team almost single-handedly to 15 of our victories, how could I miss a question when the team needed me the most? After I sat down after I was wrong and they got the bonus, I thought about what had happened. I couldn't grasp it, how could this happen? I was shocked.

Rest assured that hour was the longest of my life...

Roughly five minutes after the quiz, I was alone while my team was playing basketball, so I decided I would ask God what was going on. I said "God, thank you. I knew this was going to happen. I knew we couldn't win them all. Even though I feel like I've let you down by not studying your Word, I know that you are pleased with me. I know that quizzing has led me to awesome friendships with my team, led me to live a better life, and has raised the bar for Rookie Quizzing in Ottawa." I thought, "God, even though I am a loser in this world, with you, I am a winner, because I've done exactly what you wanted me to do, and that's study your word and really understand what it was telling me. My Christian life has grown so much from quizzing, and I owe it all to you. Thank you for opening my eyes to you, and for opening my hearts for your Word. Continue to guide me, and protect me, in your name, Amen."
We went on to lose 2 of the next three quizzes...

Before every quiz after the loss, I prayed for my team because I am always the captain. I prayed, "Lord, thank you for making us realize that winning is not everything, and that if we don't try, we will lose. Lord you know that I've been praying for 2 months before every quiz saying that if we lose, help us to be good sports about it. Thank you for opening our eyes and not be conceited about it, because you could make us lose every quiz from now through Finals. Help us to be humble to you, and to your ruling in our lives. In Jesus' Name, Amen"

On the van ride home, I thought about that prayer at the lunch break, and the losses that occurred, and I realized the true importance of quizzing. I've grown with the Lord so much since I have started, and I am more obedient to His Word because now I have a good understanding of it.

I'm sure that many of you who read to now are wondering why I put all these things in here. It's because, I want everyone to realize that quizzing is more than trophies, more than the trips you take to get to quizzes, the fun things you do and the praise from others when you you do well, it's about the relationship you mold with God when you study His word. I believe that when you truly obey God, he will bless you to the full. I'm going to end this with a verse that applies to working not for Trophies or the fun of it all, but for working toward that relationship with God. When in doubt, go to God and ask Him to help you be the best person you can be, and the best quizzer you can be. Thank you for your time, and I pray that you will show this to your quizzing team, and that you would live for the Relationship with God, not for the earthly things.

John 6:27 says this: "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him, God the Father has placed His seal of approval"

Also check out this Page: Article Written By Deb Gropp
-Kevo- 2-8-03