Subscribe to RSSCompetition
Competition is not something we do well as Christians. It likely ranks in the Top 10 Worst Practices in the Body. I take that back – we compete very strongly against our own, but hardly and rarely in the right way. In terms of the market, or outside of denominations, though, we most often take our ball and go home, so to speak.
Can you blame us? Our examples of competition are God and Satan, Cain and Abel, David and Goliath (and Saul), among numerous others. It seems that most accounts in the Bible of competition read like the Showdown at the O.K. Corral, not the boardroom discussions at Microsoft and Apple, Ford and Toyota, or Burger King and McDonalds.
That’s not to say that the general market isn’t plenty cutthroat or aggressive.
Perhaps it is due to our understanding that God is always right and a winner in any conflict in which He engages; to us, it follows that if our cause aligns with His, then we, too, should be victorious – just like all the Elijah’s, Esther’s, and Ehud’s in the Bible. Shouldn’t we always come out on top? If so, why even engage in the struggle if we are going to win?
Unfortunately, as we go about our lives, we do not have the benefit of the hindsight the Bible provides us about these examples. Keep in mind that these people, whose stories we so revere, didn’t either. They did as they were called to do, didn’t shortcut the process, and relied on God for the results. There is a valuable lesson there for us all. But I digress.
Many of the examples we have were filled with very real emotions about what they were going through. Fear, doubt, second-guessing – all were common while executing their mission, even though their cause was the better one. They had the best product, in a manner of speaking, and were fiercely competitive.
For all that, not every competition in the Bible ended in death. Somehow, we miss that. The New Testament is rife with examples in the church of disagreements; unfortunately, as is in the case of Paul and Matthew, it rose to such a pitch that separation was required for the sake of harmony. Perhaps this is why we bail out of competition: we believe it ends either in death, disharmony, or disconnection. While this can be true, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t value to it.
Competition, by its very nature, shows supremacy. Again, another thing we shy away from; aren’t we all equal as children of God? There is biblical truth to that. However, we enjoy the results of supremacy, often without wanting to hold true to that which creates it. The line of Christ ran through a genealogy which required competition, and winning, not once but in almost every step of the way. What if David hadn’t competed each and every time he did? What if the Judges did not compete? What if Christ had not?
Moving the idea of competition away from physical combat and into the world of causes and capitalism, we see value. The very best of anything comes from it; it requires increase, innovation, and investment. But instead of holding to, or creating, the best, we are content and complacent to rest on our laurels; instead of hurting somebody’s feelings, or stealing someone’s donors (yes, I said it), we abandon the call to be the best. This is not biblical.
What about abandoning self? Isn’t competition inherently selfish? Isn’t the message of the Bible all about abandoning self? Yes, it is full of examples of abandoning self. But competition requires this: we must admit that we have not arrived, we must be humble enough to recognize that someone may do something better than we do, we must be willing to review our work to see if it can be better.
Christians redefined service as an honorable act, instead of the vocation of slaves. Why have we allowed the general market to make that a sector that they control, for which they create the rules and by which we must play the game? Instead of creating top-notch products, we (most often) mimic the best ideas of those outside ourselves, and add the word “Bible Edition” to it. Or, we engage in protectionist activities, which only serve to sustain dying products or industries, instead of innovating and coming up with the next big thing ourselves. We would rather copy the world than beat it. We defend our actions by saying we are in the world, but not of it; but which activity is which?
It has not always been this way, but seems to be a development of the past several decades. There is legitimate original value of the generations before us but we are too apt to hold on to it and try to sustain it as it is, instead of build upon it in new and innovative ways. Where are the next ministry builders? Elijah passed the glory on to Elisha, who then did new and greater things. Who will be the Elisha’s of today?
As always, there are more questions than answers. But to remain effective, and, yes, relevant, we cannot be afraid of competition. We have to practice and perfect it.
We must be competitive.
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