I want to thank myself

19-year-old Mirra Andreeva won the French Open women's tennis tournament, a major competition, on June 6, 2026. Tennis tournament winners (and often losers) are expected to make a speech, acknowledging the skill of their opponent, thanking their trainers and coaches, and saying other appropriate things.

Andreeva wore a jacket with the words “I want to thank myself” during the trophy presentation and explained that she was pleased with her own reaction to adversity. Andreeva played well, and, no doubt, is to be applauded for this accomplishment. But her slogan reminds me of one of humanity's most common flaws -- pride. We often praise ourselves, or think that we deserve praise that we didn't get.

One of the most dramatic stories in the Bible is the story of the fiery furnace, in Daniel 3. King Nebuchadnezzar produced an enormous statue of himself, or had others do this. It was about 90 feet tall. Self-promotion on a grand scale. The king had all of the important people in the kingdom brought together, and, at a signal from the band, they were supposed to worship the great statue.

But that self-promotion didn't amount to much. God sent an angel to rescue Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from a fiery furnace, and Nebuchadnezzar realized that people should not be worshiping a statue of himself, or any other gods but the God of Israel.

I wish Andreeva the best. She has accomplished an important milestone in what may be a distinguished career. But she didn't do it by herself. God gave her strength and accuracy and endurance. God allowed her to have good coaching and training. Andreeva's opponent in the French Open finals had to play a few more games than Andreeva did, because she wasn't, it was thought, good enough to win an automatic berth in the tournament, and so she was fatigued for a reason that didn't affect Andreeva.

Pride goes before a fall. Politicians, entertainers, athletes, bloggers do not do things by themselves. May I honor God, not me.

Thanks for reading.