Bible Verse: 1 Corinthians 9:24, 25

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.

Can you compete?

From the dawn of time, men have been trying to “one up” one another. Everybody wants to be first in line, be better, make more money, or simply win the game. We are very competitive people. If someone achieves a goal or gets something we want before we do, chances are we’ll increase our efforts just to try and surpass them. Instead of being happy for each other when we reach important milestones or achieve goals, we become envious instead.

Some say competition is a good thing, because it brings out the best in us. It shows the “stuff” that we’re made of. However, the satisfaction we gain from winning or being better than someone else is always short-lived. There will always be somebody who wants to knock us out of the top spot and is very capable of doing so. Also, we can become very bored when the winning becomes too easy and we’re not challenged.

Does competition have a place in the life of a Christian? Consider this: do we always have to win to be satisfied with our efforts? Is it the results or the fact that we’ve done our very best that counts? If we look at the way Jesus lived, it seems that how we run the race and whether we finish it, is much more important than trying to overtake everyone else to be first.