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Christian Competition

 

Healthy Competition

You know one of the most significant concepts we need to understand is "your worst competitor is you." Why because you don't push yourself as much as you think. You can push yourself, but without some healthy competition, you will fail to get better. You will also miss the mark on reaching your full potential. Think about this statement "individuals perform at a higher level when competing against external opponents than when working alone." (Kyle Eschenroeder). As much as we would like to say everyone wins, the truth is they don't. There is a winner, and the rest are losers. That is not a bad thing.

 

I need Iron

In losing, you see where you could be and who you could be if you drive yourself to a better place. If you never achieve that level of success, you still go farther than you could have ever gone in measuring yourself against yourself. As Christians, we need others. We need our brothers and sisters in Christ to push us. Solomon, the wisest man to live, said, "As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." (Proverbs 27:17 NKJV).  We need our strong brethren to show us our potential in Christ and coach us to get there. If you try it on your own, you risk missing the fullness of life in Christ. It's not motivation or determination as much as it is healthy competition and desire to be "like them." Even Paul set that challenge out there for our New Testament brethren and intern us.

 

Be An Imitator

Look at what he says, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1 NKJV)  and "Therefore I urge you, imitate me." (1 Corinthians 4:16). Man, what a healthy level of competition that is caused by creating the thought of, "I want to be like Paul" or "I want to be better than Paul." Can you imagine what kind of faith and walk in Christ that would drive you to? Or what about this one, "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked." (1 John 2:6  NKJV). Wow, now your thoughts are, "I want to be like Christ." In some ways, it could be compared to running like Usain Bolt or playing like Tom Brady. It's a dream that would take a lot of work, effort, dedication, support, and time. Many put in a lot of effort to be just that. Can you imagine if you put in that effort every day, the same effort as a world-class athlete, into being like Christ? What would you become in the Lord? Try it. Healthy competition is not destructive. As Christians, we need that brotherly comradery to help push us to be better than what the man in the mirror believes we can be.

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