And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:13-14

Upon the arrival of Jesus, the angels appeared to the shepherds and proclaimed peace and goodwill toward all men. The long-awaited Messiah had entered the world to bring back the peace that man lost in the Garden. After the Fall, the earth and everyone in it was plagued with fear, unrest, and insecurity. The Old Testament illustrates that God’s laws exposed the nature of man, but those laws did not change his stubborn and rebellious heart. While the nation of Israel had temporary peace with its neighbors at times, it was a matter of time before conflict and quarrels arose in families and with the neighboring nations.

In the world, having an inner peace is rare and almost impossible. Furthermore, in the state of insecurity, everyone looks out for themselves, and it becomes harder to have time or desire for goodwill towards others. People are stressed and the level of stress is going higher. In addition, the age of those who are experiencing stress is becoming younger and younger. Jesus came to change the nature of man and to bring us hope for a different kind of life! Jesus’ arrival brought the hope of true and lasting peace for those who trust in Him!

Peace is a commodity that many people desire but few people enjoy on a consistent basis. Years ago, when I was in a sociology class, the professor stated that the peace of mind is the number one thing that people desire to have in their lives. Peace is still among the top desires that people seek to have in their lives. Wealth, technology, access to many creature comforts have not brought us peace. People have more clothes and shoes than they know what to do with, but they are not able to purchase the peace they so badly desire. As a matter of fact, the misuse of wealth and riches brings greater discontentment and in some cases greater financial bondage.

Jesus bought us the peace that we desperately needed. He opened the door for us to have peace with God, peace with ourselves, and peace with others. In Jesus’ model prayer, Jesus stated:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9-10

The will of God was to send His son to the earth and through Him to bring peace and goodwill towards all. Those of us who have been born again know the peace of God that calmed our guilt and shame when we first accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The same peace that we received, the Lord desires for us to remain in and to share it with others who are in despair, anguish, and despondency.

Are you a peaceful person? What are the triggers that cause you to lose your peace? What do you do to go back to your resting and peaceful place? I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.

The Lord is long suffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’   Numbers 14:18

God operates generationally by forgiving and blessing those who do right. On the other hand, the sins of the fathers can affect their children to the third and fourth generation if they have not been dealt with.

We see a pattern of lying that occurred in Abraham’s family line. Abraham lied about his relationship to Sarah to save his life ( Genesis 12). Isaac repeated the same thing with his wife Rebecca (Genesis 26). Jacob deceived his father to get his brother’s blessings (Genesis 27). Then Jacob’s children lied about the fate of Joseph (Genesis 37).  When people think that they can get away with sin, they are too short-sighted. Those patterns continue to get repeated through the generations until people are willing to repent and stop the pattern. If these Biblical characters had thought about the impact of their sin on the next generation, they probably would have never done it.

These kinds of iniquities are generational curses where a pattern of behavior continues to get repeated until someone renounces, repents, and walks away from that type of behavior. Generational curses can look different for each family. Some families deal with pride and offense. These families can have a lot of broken relationships because people are not willing to admit their wrong. Instead, they always blame others for their problems. Other families operate in fear and they continually live a life of poverty, insecurity, and suspicion. Generational curses can come in various forms such as false religions, unhealthy thought patterns, addictions, lust, immorality, fornication, adultery, selfishness, anger, diseases, depression, etc.

Generational curses have natural and spiritual dimensions to them. Family members see how their parents or grandparents cope with life, and they learn those faulty coping mechanisms. In addition,  the enemy builds a stronghold in people’s lives due to ignorance and rebellion of parents or grandparents who opened the door to a sinful system of life. Therefore, the battle is real and must be confronted!

It is always surprising to me how people claim their parents had major failures in raising them, but they are still influenced either by modeling the same behavior or trying to do it completely the opposite as to distance themselves from it. For example, one claims that their father was an alcoholic and made the house unsafe, but they do the same thing or they become workaholic. It’s important to honor our parents or grandparents, but it’s critical to recognize their ways of carnality and immorality and make a decision not to follow those ways!

Each of us have a responsibility to pray and ask the Lord to expose the generational curses in our families. Avoiding or denying them do not make them go away. We then have to renounce those curses and break off our agreement with them. The blood of Jesus is powerful to break every curse in our bloodline and nullify its power and impact in our lives. We also have a responsibility to recognize those areas in our own lifestyle and come out the familiar pattern of dealing with things in a certain way. Those areas would require our repentance and learning God’s ways to avoid falling back into the bondage of the enemy.

When those generational curses are broken and we come into agreement with God, we begin a new pattern of generational blessings from this time forward that blesses our children and the generations to come. Praise God that He has the power to break every curse, to redeem us, and to begin the generational blessings!

“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; Deuteronomy 7:9

The Lord’s plans have always been generational. He makes covenants that last through the generations and are everlasting. God’s mercy and love is so great and awesome that He is willing and able to bless someone’s life incredibly through thousand generations because they love God and walk according to His ways! This scripture is powerful and encouraging, and we see it played out in the life of Abraham in a far greater dimension than Abraham would have thought or imagined!

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. Genesis 12:7

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Genesis 15:4

When God spoke to Abraham, Abraham did not have any children. This did not deter God from making a grand promise to him. Abraham’s dilemma was about who would be his heir. However,  the Lord’s vision was far greater for him. Abraham’s concern about not having an heir was minuscule compared to God’s plan for Abraham. God’s thoughts were about Abraham’s descendants. 

God’s plan for Abraham was far wider than just blessing Abraham’s family, but it was also about reaching humanity with His plan of salvation. Abraham’s vision was too small while sitting in His tent and focusing on what He did not have. Therefore, God took him outside and had him look at the stars in heaven. I wonder what Abraham thought when he looked at the stars. According to scripture, Abraham believed God that he would have descendants, but did he understand the scale of the work God was going to do!?

The stars in the skies are enormous, which would have probably made him think of the multitude of children and grand children. However, they also cover the entire skies, which speak of their vastness and their far reaching impact! Regardless of the geographical place, the stars can be seen from any location. They also exist for generations to come. They don’t necessarily change or go away but remain constant through the generations. God’s promise to Abraham was physical and spiritual, and it was far, wide, deep, and high! He is so awesome!

Sometimes, our vision is small, and we get too focused on what we want or what we don’t have. Most of our prayers revolve around those desires, and we can be discouraged and frustrated with what we don’t see happening. All along, God sits outside of time and considers the generations that come after us. He is preparing us, and He is paving the way for what He wants to do for generations to come.  

Do you have a tent around your vision? Spend sometime with the Lord and identify those areas that your vision is too small. Allow Him to speak to you generationally about His plans for your life!

It is always easier to recognize others’ prejudices rather than our own. Others’ prejudices appear distasteful and threatening. Our prejudices feel familiar and safe to us. They appear as if they protect us. Nevertheless, prejudice diminishes people to certain characteristics based on a group’s reputation or some visible indicators without giving the opportunity to know the person who has been created in the image of God! Praise God that the Lord knows our deep-seated prejudices and knows how to reveal them to us!

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,  a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”

And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?”

So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.  Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. Acts 10:1-4 

……

The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour.  Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance  and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.  In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air.  And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”  But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.”  This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again. Acts 10:9-16

The Lord had instructed His people that foreigners should not participate in the Passover (See Exodus 13:43). The Jewish people saw the non-Jewish folks as uncircumcised people who were unclean. This created prejudice of nationalism and Judaism in their hearts. However, upon the arrival of Jesus, God began a new covenant with people. Although the promise was to the Jewish nation first, now it was also going to include Gentiles.

Cornelius was a Gentile centurion in the Italian Regiment. This man sought God and feared Him. However, he did not have a full knowledge of the Lord. An angel met this devout man and told him to seek out Peter. At the same time, Peter had a trance where He was told that what God had considered clean, he should no longer call “common.” What if Peter had not been willing to reach Cornelius and his family!? What if Peter had been reluctant to share the trance with his fellow apostles!? It takes faith and courage to go beyond our comfort zone and reach those that we’ve had prejudice towards. 

Some of us have been raised in environments where certain groups of people were looked down upon. Some have family prejudices that have been carried through generations. We also have prejudices that are based on how people dress or the number of tattoos on their bodies by which we measure their level of sinfulness. Whether someone lives in sin or not, our prejudice will certainly not bring them any closer to the Lord. If we judge them prematurely, we lose the opportunity to get to know them or speak into their lives.

The truth is that none of the external indicators are a measure of one’s purity or piety. God clearly told His prophet, Samuel, that man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart (See 1 Samuel 16:7)! This is a reminder for all of us that regardless of how spiritual we think we are, our tendency is to measure and judge someone based on the appearance. 

I was recently asked to substitute teach for several days at an alternate school. This is where students who do not perform in traditional schooling go to. I found myself drawing all kinds of conclusions about the students that I had not even met. At first, I was reluctant to do it, but after praying about it, the Lord directed me to do it. He also convicted me with the above scripture ( Acts 10:15) that what He calls clean, I am not supposed to call “common” or “unclean.” I am very glad that I did it! My experience proved that my thoughts about them were not accurate. I also had the privilege of speaking into their lives. 

The best thing we can do to fight our prejudices is to deny prejudgment based on external factors. We must keep our hearts open with a desire to get to know people. Every person is created in God’s image. Some are God’s children and some are in need of a relationship with the Lord. Either way, we have the privilege of rubbing shoulders with them and be a Godly example of Christ. What God calls clean, we are not called to pronounce “common”!

In the current cultural and political climate, people point fingers at each other and label one another with various forms of prejudices. Unfortunately, what many don’t realize is that when they are pointing fingers at others, they also expose their own prejudices and faulty mindsets by jumping into conclusions.

According to Webster’s dictionary: Prejudice means: preconceived judgment or opinion, an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge

The Bible has many stories of people who had their own prejudices that could have hindered their walk, victory, and deliverance.

Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house.  And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.”  But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.  And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”  So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 2Kings 5:9-14

Naaman was the commander of the Syrian army who had the favor of the king. This man was a strong warrior, but he was a leper. When his wife’s Israeli servant girl suggested to go see Elisha, Naaman set out to see the prophet for healing.

Elisha told him to wash himself in the Jordan river seven times, but this made Naaman angry. He had prejudice in his heart and thought that Elisha’s recommendation was a bad one. He felt that the Syrian rivers were better and cleaner than Jordan. Why should he dip into a foreign river when he could easily do the same thing in his own rivers!? I wonder if he thought that the Jordan river was contaminated because the Jewish people used it and he was more comfortable with his own “clean” rivers!

We can also have our own prejudices based on what we are familiar with and what seems unknown to us. We draw conclusions on people’s intelligence, income, or even driving skills based on where they live, their nationality or ethnicity. We think that our town or our church is better than others when we know very little about other towns or other churches. Prejudice causes us to have preconceived notions about others. This could cause us not to associate with others. This can also impede us from helping or receiving help from others because we see them as “inferior” or “not good enough.”

The servant girl wisely told Naaman that if Elisha had suggested something grand to him, he would have done it. Naaman was looking for some big prayer or miraculous act. However, the simple dipping in the Jordan river healed him. Similarly, sometimes the transformation in our hearts comes from those small and insignificant steps that lead to a big change of mindset. It is in those moments that we also receive our healing and deliverance. 

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

God tells us that we can be deceived with the condition of our hearts and think that we are better and more pure than we really are. It is only through opening ourselves up to the Lord and allowing Him to show us the prejudices in our hearts that we realize our blind spots. Don’t fall into the trap of name-calling others or labeling them based on very little information. Ask the Lord to reveal your prejudices and take the steps He shows you to receive your healing and deliverance.

This a continuation from last devotional on how we can refrain from competition.

Third, we need to remind ourselves of our identity in Christ regularly. When we get older in the Lord, we have a tendency to think that our identity in Christ is settled. As a result, we just get busy with life and doing other things. However, any good relationship requires us to be in good and loving communication with each other. In this case, we need the reassurance of God’s love towards us, and we need to remind ourselves of our love for Him and our desire to do our work His way. This helps us to be built up in Him, so the competitive pressure of those around us doesn’t have to influence us. In addition, we make a lifestyle of thankfulness and gratefulness for who God is.

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 1Timothy 6:6

Fourth, seek contentment and ask the Lord to help you with discontentment. Be a truthful friend to yourself.  When you are feeling discontent, admit it. If you deny those feelings, you will be drawn to what is familiar and what gives you the fictitious sense of satisfaction and contentment. The humdrum of life can easily take us to a place of being discontent. For some, this leads to competition because that is where they get their validation and satisfaction. Contrary to our usual tendencies, discontentment can actually lead us to an untapped area in our lives that can be explored! Maybe challenge yourself to learn something new in life and enjoy it!

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 1Corinthians 9:24-25

Fifth point is that Paul’s writing in the above scriptures stresses the fact that the spiritual life is a marathon. We have to persevere and be committed for the long haul to win in this race. This race is not against others. The race is against sin, our own fleshly proclivities, and spiritual battles waged against God’s people. His intent was not to state that we are in competition with anyone else to make it to heaven or to have God’s approval. Heaven is not experiencing scarcity, and God would be pleased if every human being on the face of the earth was willing to run the spiritual race and finish it faithfully. 

The Lord is a God of abundance, and He knows how to bless His children in His way and in His timing. He promises inheritance and blessings to those who are meek in heart. Those who compete may get what they crave, but they will remain carnal and will inhibit developing the fruit of the Spirit, which is the true fruitfulness! 

Furthermore, when we let go of competition, we develop more satisfying relationships with our spouses, co-workers, co-laborers in ministry, and friends. Solid relationships develop where there is no comparison or feeling threatened by each other. Instead, those healthy relationships develop where there is mutual respect, trust, love, and desiring God’s best for each other. This is not an easy area to conquer. However, with the Lord’s help through honesty and consistency, we can overcome and establish our identity in Christ at a much deeper level!

How do we refrain from being competitive?

The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:9-10

First, we need to ask the Lord to show us the condition of our hearts and why we desire to compete. When we give permission to the Holy Spirit to search our hearts, He will bring to our attention where we have a lack that we try to fill by competing. He also puts us in situations where we have to decide whether we will compete or not. Denying or excusing competition will not remove the desire. Every feeling or thought that comes to us during those moments are important to confront with the Lord’s help. 

For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 1John 2:16-17

Second, the lust is always at the doorstep trying to trap people of God. Satan deceived Adam and Eve by making them take the matters into their own hands and causing them to think that they were missing something. There is a lust in every person’s heart that needs to be mastered. Otherwise the pride of life and the allure of significance will draw us to compete in order to be seen and look important. 

Third, we need to be mindful of the fact that certain environments have a competitive tone to them. If you are part of a competitive environment, you will notice others who are used to competing to get their way or to survive. You have to decide if you are going to engage yourself in that kind of mindset/behavior. If you are a naturally competitive person, your flesh will want to prove itself. However, you can decide to deny your flesh and choose not to get engaged. In a way you’re telling your flesh that you choose to lose the competition by not showing up. If others want to be competitive, that’s a trap they have chosen to be entangled with, but you can choose to live a life free from competing. 

You don’t have to allow your worth to be defined by any person or environment. If you surrender your worth to others, then you are at their mercy to continue to prop you up. You are also obligated to prove to them that you are still worthy. This is a form of idolatry! Do everything heartily as unto the Lord and leave it there. Whether it is acknowledged, appreciated, or applauded, it does not matter. Look to the Lord and ensure that He is pleased with your work. His view is the most important! Give the Lord your insecurities and acknowledge that He knows how to bless you and reward you. 

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional. 

This is a continuation on problems with competition for us as believers.

6. Competition is centered around the fear of man

The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. Proverbs 29:25

Competition sets a standard that everyone needs to strive for. The standard of competition could be high and even unrealistic. Nevertheless, the goal is to reach a man-made standard, but it has nothing to do with God’s standard for His children.

For example, athletes are defined with how skilled they are in their sports. Most people don’t care about the person’s character, integrity, or how they treat their family members. All that matters is that they are winners on the field or on the court. A person may feel satisfied temporarily because others look up to them or follow them everywhere. However, God may not be pleased with that person at all. It is no wonder that many celebrities develop various self-destructive addictions. The world tells them that they are great and wonderful but deep inside that is not how they feel. Then they wonder what is wrong with them and why they can’t appreciate all their success or fame!

Similarly, we may reach a man-made standard in a certain field and be a winner. However, God cares about our heart condition, character, and obedience regardless of how impressive we are to others. When we allow the world to define our worthiness based on competition, we develop a faulty foundation and neglect what the Lord says about us. The truth is that competition can never create a solid identity because it is based on external accomplishments. Those who are ruled by competition, will have to prop themselves by drawing on addictive habits/relationships to shut the voice inside of them that is telling them that they are not good enough!

7. There is no end to competition

Competition has an insatiable desire for a person to continue to prove that they are the most capable, most beautiful, most athletic, most skilled, etc. It is an insecure state of being since there could always be someone better. One can never feel that they have arrived. As Proverbs 29:25 (see above scripture) states clearly,  people become enslaved to the need to do more and be more. Competition produces a vicious cycle, and it becomes a snare to the wellbeing and security of the person!

8. Competition inhibits vulnerability

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Competition changes the subject about one’s inner needs and focuses on accomplishments. Vulnerability is a bad word in the mind of one who is competitive. Those who are driven by competition feel too scared to open up and ask for help. That would be humiliating to them. Instead, they would rather be seen that they have it all together and be applauded in order to ease the pain of their brokenness. A Competitive person feels that they are always on stage performing to the crowd. Hence they have to be on their best behavior, look good, and be impressive.

If we really want to be touched by God, we need to have a safe place where we are not concerned about impressing or outshining others. We need to acknowledge our burdens, needs, and insecurities and be willing to receive help, healing, prayer, and counsel.

As children of God, how do we ensure that our identity is not based on competing with others? I will share about this in the next devotional. 

As I shared in the last devotional, competition is very much part of our culture and the way we live life. However, there are dangers to doing life with a competitive mindset.

This is the continuation of the potential problems with competition:

3. Competition demands to win

For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. James 3:16

Competition has the insatiable desire to win, and when winning is the goal, we become self-focused.  As a result, it would be difficult to be happy for others in their success or to encourage them to get better at what they do when we are in competition with them. The scripture tells us that self-seeking opens the door to every form of evil. We cannot embrace our carnal nature and feed it with competition and, at the same time, feed our spirit man by being willing to deny ourselves.

Competition does not allow us to see and appreciate the work that God is doing in others’ lives because we are so focused on our welfare. Would you be able to encourage others who seem threatening to you? Would the desire to win and compete inhibit you from speaking words of life to someone?

4. Competition does not allow us to esteem others better than ourselves

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Philippians 2:3

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Philippians 2:2-3 (MSG)

Competition compels a person to strive and connive to look better than others. It makes the person desire to outshine others and look perfect and mature! Competition can operate in  marriages, at work, in ministry, in lifestyle, and how one spends his/her money. Someone who is competitive has no joy in seeing others grow and become better than them. Competition does not produce love, peace, and affection but envy, sadness, and insecurity. 

5. Using spiritual terms to excuse/hide competitiveness

The authority figures of the outsiders play this game, flexing their muscles in competition for power over one another, masking their quest for domination behind words like “benefactor” or “public servant.” Luke 22:25 (Voice)

People use variety of spiritual excuses to be driven and competitive. They can use excuses such as: God has called them to fight; they are called to win; They want to be make a lot of money so they can fund the Kingdom; He has given them strength to do all things through Christ; they are called to be the head and not the tail, and the list goes on. All of those are true in the proper context, but if it feeds our selfish ambitions and our competitiveness, we are feeding our carnality!

The word of God is rich with many truths, but what makes it powerful is not taking one scripture out of context to meet our needs but in spending time to allow the word of God to change us. If our passions, desires, and competitiveness have not changed after following Christ (except this time we give all the glory to God), we may be deceived! 

The transforming resurrection power comes to make us a new person and give us God’s desires. The Holy Spirit comes to empower us to say “no” to our old nature and to deny ourselves, so the life of Christ can grow in us. God changes our hearts, motives, and activities. If competition is the main way we feel alive, well, and whole, then there is a deeper spiritual work required. 

Competition is so ingrained in our lives, that it takes time to identify it and allow God to uproot it from our lives. I will continue with this subject in the next devotional. 

As Americans, Competition is a cultural value for us; it is a way we measure our success and achievements. Competition impacts many areas of our lives, we use it to evaluate people’s skill set, stamina, perseverance, and fortitude. It is a measure of performance in our society, and we celebrate it in our lives as well as in our favorite people’s lives. 

Competition begins in early years with spelling bees and science projects, and it extends to sports and musical performances through the childhood years.  Later on, teenagers compete indirectly with thousands of others for a spot in their college of choice. Finally, when children become adults, they have to compete against other candidates for the job they are seeking. 

There are some benefits to performance and competition. When a system such as our American system allows opportunities for many, it is necessary to have a set of criteria that allows elimination of some and rewarding the most qualified. However, when performance and competition become a lifestyle and the method by which we evaluate ourselves and others, it’s a slippery slope!

The constant bombardment and evaluation of our activities causes us to rely on competition as a source of identity. If winning makes us feel valuable and worthy, then these attributes have taken over our identity!

What are the potential pitfalls of competition?

1. Competition causes us to be driven and makes us feel that we always need to do better to feel important or worthy.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

The Lord has created everyone one of us for Himself. His pleasure is for us to represent Him well on the earth and to do the work that He has for us. We can glorify God in every activity, but if the activity defines our worth, now we have elevated the activity/competition to a level that God did not intend. Would we be able to hear God if He told us to stop the activity? Is there a drive deep within us that cannot stop?

2. Competition demands comparison.

For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 2Corinthians 10:12

We cannot compete without comparing our abilities to others and plan to outperform them. Comparison has at least two bad side effects. We’ll either think we are better than others and feel proud about it. Or we’ll feel that others are better than us and will feel lowly and not good enough. Either position is not what God has intended for us. As Paul beautifully stated, it is not wise to compare ourselves to others. It just leads to carnality and competition and does not produce good fruit.

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.