Competition

A few days ago, I chatted with someone about being competitive. I admitted that I am a competitive person. I am so competitive that I will not join a competition unless I think I can win. Admittedly, this has changed over the years and I am growing to understand the joy of competing without the aim of winning. But, I do not compete on any athletic field for that reason. The other person claimed that they were not at all competitive. I came away feeling a bit sinful for being and admitting that I was competitive. I don't know how they felt, but maybe they felt pretty good about themselves.

So I have pondered the idea of competition for a few days and have come up with a few things I think are true. (I cannot say they are absolute truth, but I find truth in them.)

1. All people are competitive. We all want to be better than someone. We all want to be at least as good as others. We all want a prize at the end of our race. If we were not competitive, we would never accomplish anything of purpose. We would hand every chore, every opportunity over to someone else. I don't know of anyone who does that all the time.

2. Competition does not mean we need to be better than others. It may simply be our efforts to reach the same level as the one who is better at what they do. Competition may be just chasing a personal dream, not racing others for one dream.

3. Competition can be our compelling motivation to reach goals. Without a competitive spirit within us, we would never achieve our goals. This places competition within ourselves, fighting against those things that hinder us from the goal we set for ourselves. It is this competition that helps us leap over the roadblocks instead of allowing them to stop us.

4. Competition can be killed within our spirits, but it should not be. God placed in us a purpose that we are to strive to accomplish. Even if others are going in the same direction, we should never allow others or ourselves to quench that drive within us.

One of our family's favorite Easter activities is our pinewood derby races. Every person is encouraged to make their car the fastest and race for the prize. But we also have prizes for our good sports. Teaching healthy competition is important. We must win with humility (and joy), and lose with grace (and joy at doing our best).

There are many scriptures that speak about running the race with perseverance. We cannot run if we are unwilling to compete. I choose to compete, and learning to compete for the joy it brings, I will race to the finish line. I will win MY race. I hope you win yours!