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!

Unity of Purpose

How did they become a team?

I hear this phrase being tossed around the corporate world: Unity of Purpose.  There are many images I get from that phrase, and most of it seem kind of, well, like a patterned buzz word with no meaning behind it.  I did have a moment of clarity when I saw the dynamic of the various superheroes of Avengers.  Each of the powerful heroes were used to working alone to manage the supervillains.  What's interesting is that until they had a single united purpose, they had no reason to work together, and largely fought among one another.

That didn't work.

It took the collective effort of each of the individuals to accomplish their purpose: the removal of Loki, the brother of Thor, and the saving of the world as we know it from his destruction.

What would be the singular purpose that unites the Church?  What crisis are we waiting for?  From what I see, we are caught up in our individual lives and not spending enough time in fellowship with others who could strengthen us.  Do we lack the ability to trust another with our deep thoughts and feelings?  Do we think we will hurt less if we walk alone?

Jesus didn't want us to walk alone.  Consider his prayer the night he was betrayed.  "I am in them and you are in me.  May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me." (John 17:23 NLT)

Jesus knew we could not do the work he gave us without having a unity of purpose.  He asked his Father in heaven for that gift of unity in the body of Christ for us.  This is perhaps best illustrated in Ephesians 4:1-16.  We cannot achieve maturity without the others who make up the complete body of the Church.  We need each other.

"He makes the whole body fit together perfectly.  As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." (Ephesians 4:16 NLT)

Are you Hiding?

Who was the real hero of Gotham?

I was able to watch the latest Batman movie on the opening weekend.  As I watched it, I was compelled by the characters that surrounded the title hero.  I loved the way Alfred goads his employer to be better.  I was compelled by the rise of another moral police officer.  I even enjoyed watching Catwoman struggle between doing the right thing and doing the selfish thing.  The Batman character was well done, but for some reason, I couldn't identify with him.

I found myself instead focusing on the humanness of the character of Commissioner Gordon.  I pained with him in his longtime coverup of what really happened.  Of his compulsion to allow Truth to emerge.  Of his decision to allow personal pain continue for the greater good.  What really compelled me into his character was his continued resolution to justice.  He was always concerned about the citizens of Gotham.  He continued to work even in the dark days of snow, when all hope was lost.  And in his weakness, he was able to save Gotham.

How can someone so weak become someone so important?  He was able to motivate others to fight with him.  He found them hiding, and compelled them to come out and stand with him.  He would not hide.  His actions remind me of the events on 9-11 and what must have taken place on the fourth plane. These people stood together and fought.  They effected change for the greater good.  We need to live our lives championing for the rights of one another.  We cannot afford to run away and hide.  We will not tolerate the bullying of others.  We will stand together to fight.

If you are a believer in Christ, but you are afraid to speak about Him, or to live your life out loud for Him, then you are hiding.  Find others.  Stand together and fight for the lives of the lost.  They need you.

"Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ.  Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people's trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition.  Your courage and unity will show them what they're up against: defeat for them, victory for you -- and both because of God."  (Philippians 1:27-28 MSG)