Thoughts on Competition
(13 year old thoughts on comptetition)
Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
The finals of a talent competition is coming up. The teams are practising their various performances, some are singers, others dancers, others people who play with fire, others acrobats and even some are actors. They're all rehearsing, trying to get it perfect. On the eve of the finals, everyone's trying to get to sleep.
The next day the sun rises, everyone is running about. The stage is being readied for the performers, the seats for the fans and guests, the lights for the people who want them, the smoke for the people who like coughing, and the water in case something goes terribly wrong. The teams are in their rooms, uptight and nervous. A few teams decide they should pray about it; so the team members huddle round in a circle and begin praying. Many of them have never prayed before, and are only doing so because they want to win. They ask the Lord to help them to win and to beat the others.
The lights are switched on, the smoke billows, the music starts, the crowd cheers; the competition has begun!
And that's where I'll stop. Because right here, there's a rather big problem. In competition there is only one winner, and there are many who want to be that one winner. So how is God supposed to help out in pointless competition if there's always more than one person who wants to win, or in this case more than one person who prayed to God for help. If he helps one, they might thank God (they may not) and the rest might ridicule God for not making them win (again they may not). But whether they thank or ridicule doesn't really matter, what matters is the fact that the person who wins is happy (for a bit) and the people who lose are disappointed.
Plus, where is the glory for God in competition? Competition focuses on the power, talent etc. of the individuals who compete. While they may give a mention to God if they won, the real glory always lies with the person who won. Even if the person who won mentioned God in front of the crowd, the crowd doesn't suddenly stop cheering at the person that won and focus their attention on God; no, they just keep cheering at the person and their ability to perform and beat others.
How can God support so many people getting disappointed, shattered and broken emotionally over not being able to kick a piece of leather between two poles enough? Or not being able to get a ball through a metal ring enough times? Or not being able to run fast enough. Or not being able to swim fast enough? I don't believe that God would help such things coming about, by helping one of the competitors win because they decided to pray.
I personally think that people who follow God, should not worry, get uptight etc. about these competitive games. God has much more important things for us to do than watch men or women competing against each other to see how good they can kick a ball around or something like that.
Anyway, I think I'll stop pouring out my thoughts about competition. I really think it's a tool of the devil to bring people down and to waste our time. Thanks for reading!
