Is Competition Divisive?

Well, here we go! Football fans in the area are gearing up for the game that determines which team will go to the playoffs as the NFC division champion and host the wild card team.  As I have mentioned in another blogpost, Lessons From Football, I am a Green Bay Packers fan.  However, as the rest of the family are solid Bears fans, I find myself standing on the opposite side.

This made me reflect a little bit about competitions and rivalry.  What does the Bible say about this?  Is it healthy to create a spirit of competition among believers?  1Corinthians 9:24-27 says, "Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training.  They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.  So I run with purpose in every step.  I am not just shadowboxing.  I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.  Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified." (NLT)  In this passage, Paul certainly uses competition to make a point that we need to be prepared and train like we plan to win a race.  Athletes are good examples of the kind of discipline Paul was referencing.

But, I wonder if Paul was only discussing the training part, and not the race itself.  After all, our race is the race to win souls.  What would happen if we tried to compete with each other about the number of souls won?  Would our purpose be compromised?  We should work together to win souls, and not try to compete.  I talked about this in an early blogpost a while back, Unity of Purpose.  I still believe we are trying to work too much in isolation and need to lean on the strengths of one another.

I think my favorite football game of the year is the Pro Bowl game that combines the best players from all the teams.  What is neat about this one is the spirit of playing for fun, and mutual appreciation of all the players.  This is how we should behave as believers, no matter what church denomination we come from.  We have different strengths that would appeal to different souls.

"If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand." ~Mark 3:24-25 (NKJV)

But, football is just a game, and it is fun to cheer for your favorite team.  Go Pack Go!