Letting Go Of The Need To Be RightExemplo

Celebration Not Competition

God has always given me godly friends who encourage me to press into Him further and experience His goodness. One year, I attended a conference with such a friend, and I want to share what happened.

During the conference, my friend had received prayer from a well-known minister, and I was listening. After the minister prayed for my friend, I asked him to pray for me as well. Maybe he would pray a similar prayer for me, but to my astonishment, it felt like he simply asked God to bless me and walked off. I was shocked and hurt.

As the conference continued, my friend was overjoyed with gratitude, while I found myself overcome with discouragement. This feeling persisted until I was alone and asked God, “Why can’t I celebrate with Jim?” 

And God responded with an answer I was not expecting. He said, “The reason you can’t celebrate with him is because you are competing with him.”

I was stunned! God had hit the bull’s eye and revealed why I was having trouble celebrating with my best friend; I was competing! It is so easy to get stuck wrestling with this mindset of competition because our entire society is built upon it. Competition is the platform on which companies are built. Often, it isn’t enough to be the best; you have to take out your competitors as well. In order to get a promotion, you have to be better than the rest. When you graduate from college, your résumé needs to be the best to get the job. From the beginning of your career to retirement, success revolves around competition. 

Competition may be a huge factor in our society, but it does not belong in the kingdom. 

When we allow competition to affect us, jealousy will make a place for itself in our hearts. The kingdom is all about supporting each other and lifting each other up and, most importantly, celebrating each other.

Father, please forgive me for any jealousy or envy that I have harbored toward others and forgive me for believing the lie that your blessings are limited.