The University of Illinois men's basketball team jumped out of the gate in the 2004-05 season, reeling off nine straight victories, including convincing wins over No. 24 Gonzaga and No. 1 Wake Forest. Impeccable early-season play vaulted the Fighting Illini into the top spot in the country for the first time since 1989. While it would be easy to allow the success and the ranking go to their heads, senior forward Roger Powell says, "I always like to talk about the two H's: We have to stay humble and hungry."

In 1 Peter 2:2, Peter challenges his readers to have the same unrelenting hunger for God's Word that a newborn has for milk, as it is his source of life and growth. In the same way, hunger for the Word of God will help believers in Christ grow and mature spiritually.

It is interesting that Roger Powell put "humble" and "hungry" together, because after thinking about it, it is clear that one without the other will create problems. As competitors, an arrogant attitude often causes us to look past opponents because we think we are better than they are, and that gets us knocked off our pedestal. As Christians, arrogance is incompatible with God's Word because it goes against the Christ-like humility we should be striving for. On the other hand, being satisfied with where we are as Christians or as competitors keeps us from pressing on toward what we could and should become.

Today, may our lives in and out of competition be characterized by an attitude of humility toward others and a hunger to know and serve God to the best of our abilities.