Bowling competition
Yes, competition – happens since the beginning of time. In churches, homes, between friends and co-workers.
We have sport competitions, beauty and brain competitions, between companies and so on.
What if people stop competing with each other? Do you think that this world will stood still? Do you think that we will lose the desire to achieve for anything? I wonder....
In sports, it will not be fun at all for the competitors to play the game if they don’t have to compete for a prize.
The same with other competitions. The desire to win the prize motivates everyone. Somehow, wishing to be the best can be enough reason for people to strive and work harder. It can also lead someone to use all kinds of methods in order to win. Good or bad.
Winning in a competition will always be a delight and a success for the winner. But how about the loser or the second best? Heartaches, sadness or losing one’s hope? But it can also lead one to strive more and work harder, which is actually the right attitude.
Yes, we need to have the right attitude, no matter what kind of competition we are getting into.
In blog world, probably, bloggers compete with each other. I believe it is a blogger’s desire to have the most read blog and to get so many comments as many as possible.
Why? In my situation, a comment means a lot. Having readers that leaves a mark in what I wrote means that I am connecting with somebody and that inspires me to write more. My desire of writing is to inspire of course. I hope I will not provoke somebody.
The reason why I also read blogs is to be inspired, to get to know many wonderful people, to see places through their pictures, to be entertained and to learn more.
However, blogging can be quite stressing and frustrating, if our motives is to compete with others than to write for the fun of writing. Getting frustrated over publishing a post that you really work hard for and not even a fly would come by and leave a mark. After that, you can see another blog that just published one picture and there are many comments and readers. Maybe you are publishing one post every day that no one cares, while another blog haven’t publishing a long time, but still on top of the list. One can wonder….Then it is good to be reminded that it is not the end of the world and there is more in life than blogging.
Competing can lead to fatal decisions too!
In the bible, we know the story about Cain and Abel.
Genesis 4:2-8
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[d] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.¨
How about that? Cain was enraged because God was more pleased with Abel’s offering. That was tragic! Although you might say that you couldn’t do such an act. However, it happens everywhere. Competition’s negative side. Loser gets hurt and the winner gets the glory.
In the spiritual world, good and bad competes too. God and evil. Both of them desires to win souls. The difference is that God’s desires to win souls to save them from destruction and to lead them to eternal life. But the evil likes to win souls to lead them to destruction. The strange thing is, most people nowadays choose the road to death because they think this path is happier and easier. Anyway, that is what they believe. But, that is not so, concerning the unhappy and destroyed lives of those that endulge to sin. Although the road to life can also lead to suffering, persecution and maybe lose one's own life, but the reward at the end is life abundantly.
God said in the bible:
Mathew 16:26
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
Then what would I choose? What woukd you choose?
Although the road to life is narrow and seems to be a challenge, but I know that God goes with me and I will not be afraid. So I choose God’s path.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. Psalm 23:4
How about you?
Actually, people does not need to compete with each other in order to go to heaven or hell. It is a choice that we do. Believe God or not. The competition begins when the believers tries to reach for the lost and the unbelievers hinders that to happen at the point of killing the believers. Tragic!
Yes, the competition is ongoing whether we like it or not until we reached our final destinations.
My prayer
Father, I pray that you help us to have the right attitude when competing.
Help us to let go when it is needed. To find rest for our souls while doing the works that you called us to do.
To have the right motives in everything we do.
In Jesus name, I pray
Amen
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