This’ll be short because I want to get your feedback/thoughts. Today in class Dr. Blom was talking about unity in marriage, and he was saying that competition within marriage is deadly. Whenever there is a vying for position, attention, power, the marriage is bound to suffer. His overarching thesis was basically that whatever is prescribed in scripture for relationships is really prescribed in Scripture for marriage, since marriage is the most intimate and important human relationship. Therefore, competition has no place in marriage, because competition is of the flesh. Anytime we are competing to be top, to not lose a fight, to get our own way, to be most important, we are acting out of the flesh.
So, the way my mind works is to take things to the nth degree. If one thing is bad in one situation, I always want to know why it’s not bad in every situation. So, I timidly raised my hand and asked the question: Is competition ever godly, or is it always of the flesh? Dr. Blom smiled (I love him!), and asked me what I thought. I said that it’s obvious that our culture celebrates competition, and there are times when it seems harmless…but is it really? Then I reminded him that he was the seminary professor so I wanted to know what he thought. He was hesitant, but said that he supposed there was a sort of harmless competition, like playing basketball, but that there was certainly some competition seeping into the church that was absolutely deadly: competition over who has the best church, over who has the best worship teams, over proving success within ministry. He even brought up how we might challenge kids to compete in Sunday school about who can memorize the most verses…it has a good outcome, right? So does pragmatism allow fleshly competition to fuel our efforts for godliness?
Now I’m the first one to say that I loved sports growing up and I’m so glad that I played sports. I loved the thrill of competition. Although, strangely enough, I have discovered in the last few years of taking a ridiculous amount of counseling classes 🙂 where I was forced to self-introspection and evaluation, that my competitive drive is mainly focused toward myself. I compete with myself. That’s why I like to run alone. I like to set goals and beat them. I like to compete with myself (maybe because I don’t like to lose!) That’s why my goals in school weren’t to beat anyone, they were to meet some measure that I set for myself. I think it’s also important to note that just because 2 people play a game doesn’t mean they are truly competitive. Jeff and I play cards in bed. I could care less who wins, but it’s fun to play because it brings us together. We play games at holidays as a family. It brings us together. We laugh. We cheer each other on. We make memories. So, all this to say that competition has been the source of a lot of fun and “success” in my life. But is competition itself godly? To be more specific, how is the Kingdom of Heaven advanced and God glorified through competition?
Your turn. Tell me what you think.
6 thoughts on “Is Competition Godly?”
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I don’t know, but it seems unlikely that competition is completely lacking any redeemability with references like 1 cor 9:24 and rom 12:11.
If competition is not at all Godly, then I am S.O.L., therefore, I cannot believe that God cannot be glorified through competition (that is what they call “lawyerly reasoning”). I will think of a profound reason why and respond when it comes to me.
So, I heard this on KLUV this morning on my way to school..
Last year’s heisman trophy winner (I don’t rememebr his name – ask Jeff) also does public speaking. Does he talk about football at these? Yeah, a little. But what he mainly talks about is his faith in Jesus Christ. This guy is welcomed into public schools to speak because he is the best at something, and he gets to talk about Jesus.
Seems to me (as stated in previous post, nothing profound here), God gives some people gifts at things that are competitive. Like this guy’s gift is football. God gave him the gift (plus some hard work), and he turns around and brings glory to God through the gift by talking in public schools about Jesus.
I read that article linked…seems like in a perfect world competition would not be Godly (because there would not be a need for compeition to drive the market, to force businesses to offer high quality services and products, all people would choose to do the right things for the benfit of others, etc.) But this is not a perfect world.
I would like to know Bill Zyp’s thoughts on this subject.
Good stuff Megs! THanks for really thinking about it. I agree with you. I think the key is the motive of the heart (which is never pure) but how we use competition. I haven’t connected all the dots in my mind though, so I’m still thinking. I’d like to hear Dad’s thoughts too. 🙂 Thanks for your input! Love you girl (and by the way, I LOVE your competitive edge…and I love watching you and Jeff dive for coins…:-)
I think competition can be used to bring glory to God, as in the example that Megan mentioned but does that make it a godly characteristic?
It seems like competition is more ambilivant, much a car is neither godly or ungodly, and can be used for good and to bring glory to God or for evil and self-serving purposed. Too often, I think, it’s used for that latter because it appeals to man’s pride.
That’s my two sense!
Well, what is the point behind competition really? I think it’s pride. Clearly the goal of any competition is to crown someone a “winner” or “champion”, right? If you’re truly competing, you’re trying to beat others and achieve victory.
When you are the “victor” you are superior. You have relegated everyone else to “inferior” status. If seeking to be superior over those around you is Godly, then I am missing that page in my Bible…
So, to go back to your professor’s initial point that competition is of the flesh, I agree.
Specifically as it relates to sports, I think that participation in sports (specifically team sports) can help one develop many positive character traits and physical skills that they may not have developed without sports. But the point of participating in sports should be to enjoy the game, to make friends, and to have fun. If you end the season with a trophy in your hand, fine, but if not, it shouldn’t be perceived as a negative thing. (By the way, this is NOT what our culture says — our culture demands that if you compete, you compete to be the best — this is how our culture “celebrates competition”.)
But if the only reason you participate in sports is to compete against others and be crowned the champion, then that might be considered a vain pursuit, and one that does not in and of itself bring any glory to God.
So, to summarize, I think competition by definition is a matter of satisfying our pride, and therefore is not a Godly activity. But, some things that our culture commonly associates with competition — sports in particular — can probably have very positive elements that can be glorifying to God if the participant has the right mindset.