Smol tok nomo |
Smol tok nomo |
There is one thing I have never heard preached in any church I have been in. I find it odd because it is something I have always felt convicted of when I have been guilty of participating in it. In fact, it is something I have never even allowed myself to really feel deeply because I am so passionate about how freely God can move when it is absent.
Ok its reveal time: I am speaking of competition. No, I am not talking about sports (although it can grip people there and often does). I personally am not a huge sports fan but can see how they might be fun. What I am talking about is a competitive spirit. It is the spirit that says in order for me to be “in” someone else must be “out”, in order for me to get where I want to be means that someone else has to lose position. It is often pushed forward with insecurity at its very core and I believe it is (by it’s actions) sin. Some would dare to say it is only politics or the way the world works -- but I would dare to differ. Why? Because that is not what the Bible says. The Bible says we are to prefer our brother (or sister); we are to bear one another’s burdens and lift one another up. It also says it is in God’s power to lift one up (or put one down. Yikes!) I see this happen a lot in women and it breaks my heart. Where there should be comradery there is often jealousy. There are prejudices that cause us to behave in a competitive spirit and it is not always the prettiest, skinniest or most fashionable. Sometimes we girls of all ages assume someone is a certain way and then based on that (often wrong) assumption we are the ones guilty of treating the other wrong. It is a vicious cycle! I have been tricked by girls, lied to by girls, stabbed in the back by girls, had girls be my friend one minute and then decide not to be the next all on their climb up the ladder of so called success, but what does Christ call success? Believe me, I have been tempted to slander, or gossip when done wrong and in times past I have even started down that road in the flesh before the Holy Spirit checked my heart. So how do we succeed without competition? I was so tempted to say compete with yourself to be the best you can be and while that is good advice the answer is deeper. We trust. We trust God with every area of our lives. We trust God to send us the perfect mate, job, position, or promotion. We work hard to be our best - and then put it in His hands. I can testify to this! More than once in my journey to tame the beast that is competition I have had to humble myself. I have had to suffer things without ever getting to share my side when it was slander to someone else. I have had to tame my heart when it said, “Take it, you deserve it more.” I have had to give the spot light to another and only through the work of the Spirit in my life did I learn to be genuinely happy when someone else got something I wanted. Doesn’t sound like something most people want, huh? Where am I going with this? Here is the thing, the awesome-amazing-supernatural thing: when I didn’t fight for me -- God did. He has never left me in a bad situation for long. He has granted me success, favor and all those things I could have at times selfishly fought for stepping on anyone who got in my way to get it and I have no guilt in them! When God gives you something, when God raises you up, no man can take it and no man can bring you down. We live our lives to honor God and He will honor us. No, we don’t live for Him BECAUSE of what He can do for us but we are His children and when we humble ourselves (competition is self-promotion) we allow Him to work on our behalf. God cannot bless the sin that comes with competition. Rather it is driven by jealousy, selfishness, or the attitude that says, "We are gonna get what’s ours because no one is going to give it to us!” or "We have to fight for ourselves, annihilate the person we see as a threat to our happiness." None of this honors God. We tie His hands and often fall on our faces, but even when we don’t obtain success through these means we will be held accountable. It also robs us of the beautiful experience of knowing God raised you up when you humbled yourself and trusted Him. After all, “the greatest of these is love” and love puts another above herself. So go ahead, do that thing that sheds some light on your sister. Promote others and build them up. Imagine if we lived in a world where everyone put one another first … Heaven maybe??? Ok, I know that is not the world we live in but,“Greater is HE who is in me than he that is in the world.” Let Him exalt you in due season. It is a great feeling :)
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AuthorWife, Mother, Missionary, Teacher, Friend ... just a few of the many titles I gladly wear. Never dreamed this is the journey God would take me on. Archives
July 2022
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