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It has come to my attention today what a BIG problem is in our churches (and in the Church worldwide, particularly in my country, America); that of competition, or of having a competitive spirit. People aren’t happy with who they are or with what God has called them to do, so they want to be like someone else or to do something other than what He has called them to do. They may not know exactly what it is God wants for them to do. They’re still searching. (Searching is not a bad thing to do.) This thing of competition can take many forms. The person can want favor (meaning that they want to be a favor-ite, thinking of themselves as being more important than others). They can be vying for attention, feeling so insignificant about their own lives. There is a lot of competition amongst the denominations, thinking that they’re the best and that everyone should join themselves to them. Along with competition, or at the very roots of it, is jealousy/envy, pride, selfish ambition, and even lust (or a driving force to get ahead), and coveting (a desire for something that rightfully belongs to someone else). Competition for attention started in the garden of Eden, when the serpent told Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit. There was competition in the New Testament when a mother asked Jesus to allow her two sons to sit at His side in the Kingdom. There is a competitive spirit in the business world to get ahead in business. There is competition in America to have what is called “The American Dream” (whatever that is; it keeps on changing) and to keep up with the Joneses, buying all of the newest gadgets, spending your hard-earned money on them only to be later displeased with the item and put it away on a shelf, never to be used. Such waste we are experiencing in a land of plenty! Each of us is responsible to God for what we do with every dollar. Some of us have more than enough, yet what are we doing to help those who have so little? Are we refraining from giving, thinking that what we have belongs to us? We are to be wise stewards of what has been entrusted to us, giving to the less fortunate (Luke 12:42). We are not to be greedy, but to give to the needy. Competition is not a good thing. It is not from God. It opposes His law of love. Most, it seems, either do not understand what it means to love one another or they are unwilling to do it. God is love. But, what is love? What is true love? It starts with patience. (See 1 Corinthians 13:4.) Faith will only work by love (Galatians 5:6). Each of us has faith, but without love, our faith will not work. If we have been wanting something and are unable to attain what it is we desire, we need to examine ourselves. We need to evaluate first of all whether we are operating in love with our fellow neighbor. (See James 4:2-3.) It is impossible to love someone we have not forgiven. If we are holding anything against another person, we have not forgiven them. If we do not love them with God’s love, our faith is being hindered. In this season, each of us needs to properly and honestly evaluate ourselves to see if we’re in the faith, to determine whether we are truly loving others, to get rid of any selfish ambition, coveting, pride, and lusts. God is calling for an army of believers to go forth to take new territory. As long as we’re holding these things in our hearts, we won’t know our part of the plan of God. Until we remove this competitive spirit from our lives, we are hindering God’s plan from going forth through us. Let’s dare to be different than the world, in order to make a difference in the world. As we determine to do this, others will see the true Church of the Lord Jesus Christ arise. They will then want what we have when they see the difference in our lives. As long as we remain like them, they don’t want what we have. Until we’re different than the world, the lost won’t be won through us. Livin’ for Jesus, Ann Doupont www.anndoupont.org
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