Is competition bad?

[arunangelo]

*To compete is to prove ourselves superior to others, or try to put our selves ahead of others. So that when we compete, we feel that we are either superior to others, or that we want to become superior to others and get ahead of them. *

• We see competition every where. We see it at home, between siblings; at work, between workers; in politics, between political parties and between politicians; at teaching institutions, between students and also between faculty members; in businesses; and even between religious groups.*
• We compete, because, we want to improve our life-style; we want to achieve our goals or ambitions; we feel inferior, and therefore, want to prove our superiority; or simply because, we want to survive. Sometimes, competition is forced on us. For example, we have to take a competitive examination when there are many applicants for a job; or we have to do better than others if we want to keep our job.*
• Some people may say that certain types of competitions are healthy, because, they increase our skills or encourage team spirit. However, the fact remains that in competitions we put our selves or our own ahead of others. This is contrary to Christian teachings. Jesus tells us to be servants of others (Mark 10:44), instead of putting ourselves ahead of others. He also tells us that we should seek the Kingdom of God, rather than worry about our food or clothing (Matt 6: 31-34). The early Christians followed this teachings and (Acts 4:34, 35) shared all their belonging with others, so that on one lacked their basic needs. *
• Jesus tells us to keep it a secret when we do good acts (Matt. 6:6); love our enemy; give and expect nothing in return; if some one borrows something from us, don’t ask it back; forgive others unceasingly; if someone takes our shirt give them our jacket as well and if someone slaps us on one cheek offer the other (Luke 6:27-36). He also tells us that the last shall be first and the first shall be last (Mark 9:33; 10:35-45)*

Paul tells us “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem the other better than himself. Look not every man to his own things, but every man also to the things of others” (Phil 2:3-4). He tells us to be devoted to one another in brotherly love and honor others above our selves (Gal. 6:4). He also tells us to keep away from strife (Phi.2:3; Rom. 13:13; 1Cor. 3:3; Gal 5:20, 21); which is opposing, battling or competing with others.
Competition makes us proud, selfish, jealous, angry, revengeful and hateful. These lead us to destruction (Pro. 16:18); because, they take us away from God. We must remember, that, we can not serve two masters, we can either serve God or we can serve mammon (Matt. 6:24). If we love God, we will excel in our work, not because, we want to get ahead of others, but because, we care about others. When we use competition to improve job performance we increase selfishness in the world.

 

[DeFide]

I don’t think it’s intrinsically bad. For example, competing for fun, as in giving your all in a football game, doesn’t seem to have negative aspects in and of itself.

Doing such can actually give glory to God, in the same way that birds flying and fish swimming gives glory to God.

That said, you make excellent observations that can help us strive for humility.

 

[Psalm45_9]

Competition is the reason why I hate sports today. I was very weak as a child and I was not able to do what the other boys did in gym class; I even had to go to a special gym class two times a week on top of regular gym with my classmates. I usually was the last one picked for a team, I couldn’t catch a football, dribble and shoot a basketball, or hit a baseball. I always got yelled at by the other guys because I sucked (especially in the locker room) and it took a toll on me.

I moved to another school district when I went to Jr. High. I remember in 9th grade all of the boys jaws dropped when they found out that I didn’t know how to play football (nor do I to this day, nor do I care to learn.) My child hood ruined sports for me, I still hate them today. Which makes me look like a freak when at youth events for my church I opt not to play sports with the teens. I’d rather sit on the side line and read a book then make a spectical of myself on the field…

 

[Liberian]

arunangelo,

You have some extremely good points here. Competing–against others–can have these bad side effects. Competing against oneself, trying to do one’s best, is I think a different matter.

There is a branch of mathematics called game theory, which can be used to study interactions between people, companies, countries, and the like. There are two types of game: the zero-sum game and the non-zero-sum game. In a zero-sum game, there is winning and losing. Anything that one player gains another player loses, so the total amount that all the players have always adds up to zero.

Non-zero-sum games are entirely different. In a non-zero-sum game, one player can gain something while the other player also gains something. A real-life example of a non-zero-sum game is my employment with the company I work for. Thanks to their organization, I can produce a lot more than I could by myself. The company pays me more than I could earn without it, and so I come out ahead. The company also benefits from my contributions. Is one of us winning against the other? No. In a non-zero-sum game there is no such thing as winning and losing; there is only doing well or doing poorly. It is possible for everybody to do well in this sort of game, or it is possible for everybody to do poorly, or it is possible for some to do well and others to do poorly.

By recognizing that most of life is a non-zero-sum game, one can break free of the need to compete, to get ahead of one’s fellow human beings. It makes life a lot more pleasant.

• Liberian

 

[Katie1723]

I enjoy tremendously healthy competition. Nothing like some friendly rivalry!
~ Kathy ~

 

[arunangelo]

DeFide:

I don’t think it’s intrinsically bad. For example, competing for fun, as in giving your all in a football game, doesn’t seem to have negative aspects in and of itself.

Doing such can actually give glory to God, in the same way that birds flying and fish swimming gives glory to God.

That said, you make excellent observations that can help us strive for humility.

There is nothing wrong in playing sports for fun. There is no need to prove our superiority or improve our skills by keeping scores. In the final analysis it leads to no where, except pride. All that will really matter in the end is, did we respond to people in need.

 

[Liberian]

Katie1723:

I enjoy tremendously healthy competition. Nothing like some friendly rivalry!
~ Kathy ~

Absolutely. And in many cases, the competition will keep us honest. At some point, though, and I don’t know where, the competitive spirit can take me over and that is bad.

• Liberian