What if you stopped competing? This is Paul’s challenge for us today

By Dean Collins

What if you stopped competing? It may be harder for some of us than others. Most of our culture is about winning. No one wants to lose in life. We hope and try to achieve all we can. We’ve assessed the world around us and confirmed that wisdom and power are helpful in getting ahead. You need some smarts and some influence in order to get into the right schools, get the best jobs, live in the right neighborhood, and get invited to the right social events. And, of course, we need some money to participate. It’s a chicken and egg thing. Which comes first, money or power? Who knows, but culture suggests you need some of each to compete.

We all admire the exception. We love the stories of people who started their business with nothing but willpower, a few hundred bucks, and an idea; and now they’re making millions and even using some of their wealth to help others. And whether we come from wealth and power or from poverty, we need only to watch the news and observe culture to see that most of us are trying to get at least a little more wisdom, power, and money, because this combination seems to help us compete in this world.

Those of us in the church have sadly applied this same formula to our spiritual calling. We often evaluate success in the church based on which Christian college you attended, which pastor you learned from, and which politics you align with. Christian pedigree can open doors and create opportunities in ways similar to those in the broader culture. And none of this phenomenon is new.

The chase

In the first chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul discusses the tendency to chase after knowledge and power on the road to success. The church in Corinth had it all. You could see and feel the power of Rome, the wisdom and art of Greece, and benefit from two major ports to grow your business and your wealth. And with all this diversity of cultures came a wide lane of opportunity for sensuality and sexuality.

It took only a couple of years for the church in Corinth to start blending their faith practices with their cultural customs. It’s a challenge in every generation. Paul asked the believers to consider their faith experience: “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.” I suspect the same would be true of us. Not many of us came to Christ because of our academic prowess or our societal standing.

‘For consider your calling brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards.’

Paul basically explained that the work of salvation and spiritual transformation doesn’t follow the world’s pattern or rules. In fact, it works opposite of those patterns. People in Corinth (just like people now) tried to compete and gain advantage through academia, through societal status, and by political power. To those caught up in this competition, the gospel seems foolish. But the truth, as Paul says, is the foolishness of God is wiser than [the wisdom of] men. Yet we still compete and try to operate by the world’s patterns of success.

The peace

God’s desire and his pattern is to reveal himself and release his transformational power through weakness so that no one can boast that they did it themselves. And that’s the thing: We really can’t save ourselves from our sin problem. We can’t find or buy peace that passes all understanding. That kind of peace doesn’t come from successful competition and earned income or status. Only Jesus delivers these gifts, and they come by way of his grace.

It’s okay to make a living in the competitive world. But be careful of success, because it is deceptive. You might just start believing your success is because you were better or smarter or more hardworking than others. And once we start bragging and comparing, then the same thing happens to us as happened in Corinth. People will start picking sides to align with to prove their influence.

Some in Corinth thought Apollos was the better communicator. Some thought Peter was the better leader. Some aligned with Paul. The problem was that this was just a rerun of the world’s approach. Paul called the early church to quit competing about who’s best and who’s right and simply to receive God’s grace.

When we live and love like Jesus, then his power is visible and his spirit will do the work we simply aren’t smart enough or powerful enough to do.

Your time with God’s Word
1 Corinthians‬ ‭1:18-31; Isaiah 29:14 ‭ESV‬‬

Photo by Skitterphoto at Pexels

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