Is Competition a good or bad thing?
I love competition. Games that don’t keep score make no sense to me, and are out right boring. I want to know who is the winner and who is the loser. The day after the big Duke vs. UNC game I am bathing in the joy of Duke’s victory, but I know there is a rematch coming (and I love it). Win or lose, I love competitive games. Two great teams, two great coaches, two great schools. LOVE IT!
Competitive people are usually driven people who run hard with clear purpose. However, is being competitive a part of good Christian character?
My answer is yes (but I might be biased)? Here is why I take this stance…
1. In Scripture, Competition is used as a metaphor for our spiritual walk.
2. In Scripture, Heaven is presented as the ultimate trophy.
All great championships have a trophy, a cup, a plate, or a chalice.
Three questions for the competitive Christian:
1. For who are you competing: Christ or self
2. By what power are you competing: Holy Spirit or Self
3. For what are you competing: Temporary Trophy or Eternal Trophy
1 Corinthians 9:23-25 (New International Version)
23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
I have a daughter who is very competitive so I was looking for some dialogue on Christians and competition on the web. Unfortunately, there is not much.
I’m not drawn toward competitive Christians because I have been mostly turned off by how, as soon as a competition comes into play, otherwise kind people are all of sudden trampling on the relational atmosphere just to win the game and doing things that would not ordinarily be appropriate in regular life.
So I guess my questions are: What does it look like to be a competitor with a Christ-like attitude? How was Jesus ever competitive? If you are supposed to compete for Christ and not yourself, why try to win worldly games like Trivial Pursuit or the bridal shower game or whatever? I’m all for being a good steward of your abilities, talents, etc. by doing your best, but winning often involves that extra step of taking advantage of another person’s weaknesses. Is that biblical? And why do you want to know who the winners and losers are? Why does that matter spiritually? Isn’t the winning and trophies of worldly games equivalent to the “crowns that will not last?” I don’t think “running in such a way that you win the prize” has anything to do with trying to be better than other people, but in pursuing the prize of Christ and eternity to the best of our own faith, discipline, trust, etc.
When I play a game where we don’t keep score it is more about enjoying the challenge of the game without letting the competitiveness of winning and losing get in the way. It also allows people of varying abilities to participate with the same amount of enjoyability. It may not be entertaining to some, but is that the point?
All that said, I still think it’s important to teach my kids how to compete in a Christlike way, because the world values competition and we need to know how to participate in it as a witness for God’s glory. It just think it is as easy to be a Christlike competitor as it is for a rich man to get into heaven…