Entries Tagged 'Competition' ↓

**Why Competition?**

Let us admit that even though a lot of us are active and athletic, we are not athletes. We don’t put bread on the table by scoring a goal, putting the ball in the hole, or running across the finish line. We are all average people who like to compete in athletics whenever we have the opportunity.

So, we need to ask the question: Why do you as a non-athlete need to consider the issue of competition? Well, I believe the church needs to be taught clearly and specifically on how to conduct themselves in a competitive atmosphere because we cannot avoid competition. Our society is highly competitive and it takes form in so many arenas. We compete in business, athletics, education, board games, politics, religion, and just about every other area of life. Some would argue that such a society is an American phenomenon, and although that may play a part, I think competition is more rooted in our human nature.

But I say all that to have you aware to the fact that you need to think about and evaluate how you compete because you do it everyday. This issue is important for you today and you should be concerned about how you compete - because Jesus is concerned about how you compete.

I gave a speech a couple days ago concerning how a Christian can compete in all forms of competition. I found the study to very beneficial because we face competition in just about every area of life, not just in athletics, and we often find ourselves competing in very banal things. So, I thought I would share some of my findings with you, going piece by piece. Each post I will answer a question regarding competition.

What is Competition?

Before we get anywhere on our discussion, we must first define our terms so that we are all on the same level of understanding as to what we are talking about. The Oxford American Dictionary defines competition as “a friendly contest in which people try to do better than their rivals.” And if we look of the definition of compete it says, “to strive to outdo another for acknowledgment, a prize, supremacy, or a profit.”

Those definitions reveal three required components of competition:

(a) two or more people

(b) a desired prize

(c) self-interest of each party involved

Try to keep those in perspective as we move ahead in the discussion, remembering the skeletal structure, if you will, of competition.