Competition Overdose
I go to the gym a couple of times a week to exercise. I also end up going to compare myself to others.
Am I curling more than that guy to my right? Is my chest broader than the guy to my left? Do I look older and fatter than…? Do the women in the gym find me more attractive than…?
It’s not just there, of course. I forget dozens of things every day (literally), but I remember I was 88th out of 636 in my high school class. Huh?
Constantly comparing ourselves may be inescapable for most of us. And, in small doses, it can even be motivational, positive.
But the world I live in has been overdosing on comparison and competition for a long, long time. I have been overdosing. This is poisonous to the spirit.
Nonetheless, our lives are built around them.
Get this. I am a Christian minister, a field dedicated to Jesus, and my education was at an excellent seminary. Yet, my school was structured around GPAs and grade competition.
So, I was tempted to learn about Jesus' Sermon on the Mount to get an A and beat my classmates. Huh?
Why did we need grades and competition to learn Jesus? Well, that was just the way it had to be.
In Genesis 1 we’re reminded every person is created in the image of God, whether you are a “winner” or not.
In John 3 we’re told God loves the cosmos, and that includes you, whether you are the smartest/sexiest/richest/bigliest person or not.
This is what makes grace amazing. You need not compare favorably to enjoy it.
Without God’s grace to hold competition in check, we can’t truly take joy in ourselves or in other people.
But with it Heaven touches Earth.
Am I curling more than that guy to my right? Is my chest broader than the guy to my left? Do I look older and fatter than…? Do the women in the gym find me more attractive than…?
It’s not just there, of course. I forget dozens of things every day (literally), but I remember I was 88th out of 636 in my high school class. Huh?
Constantly comparing ourselves may be inescapable for most of us. And, in small doses, it can even be motivational, positive.
But the world I live in has been overdosing on comparison and competition for a long, long time. I have been overdosing. This is poisonous to the spirit.
Nonetheless, our lives are built around them.
Get this. I am a Christian minister, a field dedicated to Jesus, and my education was at an excellent seminary. Yet, my school was structured around GPAs and grade competition.
So, I was tempted to learn about Jesus' Sermon on the Mount to get an A and beat my classmates. Huh?
Why did we need grades and competition to learn Jesus? Well, that was just the way it had to be.
In Genesis 1 we’re reminded every person is created in the image of God, whether you are a “winner” or not.
In John 3 we’re told God loves the cosmos, and that includes you, whether you are the smartest/sexiest/richest/bigliest person or not.
This is what makes grace amazing. You need not compare favorably to enjoy it.
Without God’s grace to hold competition in check, we can’t truly take joy in ourselves or in other people.
But with it Heaven touches Earth.