I
am not a competitive person, in fact, I hate competitions! Though while growing
up, I won the best actress award and if my memory serves me right, won the best
singer while in middle school, yet I look at those experiences as part of
growing up and developing our God-given talents.
The secular world runs on competitions! But this is not what the Lord desires from us! What frustrates me most is that even among
our churches today, competition is slowly distorting the very essence of
genuine service and leadership. There is competition among the pastors, the
elders, the worship leaders, the Sunday school teachers, the members, the
youths and the children and the list goes on. Have we forgotten that the very reason why
Lucifer fell from the very presence of God was because of his desire to compete
with God and to take His place?
So why compete? We have nothing to compete for and nothing to be proud
of! Let us not forget that everything that we have is the Lord’s! Name it – God
owns it! 1 Chronicles 29: 11 declares it clearly, “Everything in the heavens and earth is
yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of
everything. Riches and honor comes from you alone, and you are the Ruler of all
mankind; your hand controls power and might, and it is at your discretion that
man are made great and given strength.” (TLB)
God owns our life, our talents, our
skills and intelligent! Whatever
achievements and honors we receive are results of the manner how God coded our
DNA when we are still in our mother’s womb. In fact, Psalm 139:16b says “And in Your book
were written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one
of them.” God has already
written our life’s story. And… we were born naked and nothing! Only in God did we find our life!
So,
why are we permitting the spirit of
competition to creep into our churches? Why are we allowing it to destroy
relationships, and the worst, fellowship of God’s people? Why are we pulling
someone down just because we want to be the first? Why are we exerting all our
efforts to be the best wherein God only requires us to do our best?
The
Bible is so clear that as God’s people, we
are not to compete but to complement one another. Each one has a specific
design and purpose for the body of Christ. We need to acknowledge this truth.
It is essential that we discover the gifts God has blessed us and utilize it
for the encouragement of the believers and for God’s glory and honor. I love
how Romans 12: 3-5 puts it, “ Do not think of yourself more highly than you
ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the
faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as
each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have
the same function, 5 so in Christ we,
though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
This mandate is strengthened furthermore by
Philippians 2: 3 – 5 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with
humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not
merely look out for your own personal interest but also for the interest of
others.
What is our challenge then? It is to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing
our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:
1-2)
We are runners in the track called life. God’s intention is for us to finish the race He has
marked out for us! But it is also our responsibility to make sure that God’s
children within our sphere of influence complete the race God has designed for
them. It is our call to encourage them, help and raise them up when they fall,
rejoice with them in their victories and cheer them up to finish the race. We
are not to impede their run but to assist them to reach the finish line.
Let
us always remember that our journey in this world is a race planned by a loving
and caring Father. As we run the race, we are being transformed in the likeness
of His Son as we experience His love, His faithfulness and His fellowship.
The mark of a true winner is when God
says “Well done, good and faithful servant … come and share your Master’s
happiness.”
“I have fought a good fight. I
have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7
Thank you po sa napaka ganda at mapagpalang mensahe po! God bless us all and to God be all the glory. :)