A couple of weeks ago my high school buddies kidnapped me for a weekend (it was awesome!) to go check out a couple of ballgames and basically just a time to get away with the guys. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun! Our first game was in Chattanooga at a private prep school on a Friday night.  Unless you saw the campus, it is hard to put into words how nice this place was.  We did some research on the High School and learned that it cost $44,000 a year for your kid to attend (per year!).  We were like ducks away from the pond.  I parked my car in between a Jaguar and a Mercedes.  We arrived an hour before the game and there were around 2,000 people tailgating. Everything connected to this campus was spectacular. One of my friends I was with is a medical doctor. He knew the team doctor of the team that we were playing.  Before the game, we meet up with this doctor and he begins to tell us that his team was really good and really fast.  Though we were pretty confident that our team could hold their own, it was becoming clear that we were in for a great game.

Though the final score of the game came out in our favor (our team won!), it was the most competitive game I have seen in a really long time.  The teams would take turns scoring and it was obvious from the beginning that the game would go down to the last minute.  I was reminded how important “competition” is.  It seems our society has replaced “completion” with “participation.”  I think it is good for us to teach our children that in life their our moments of celebrations (wins) and moments of struggle (losses).  Competition is not an enemy of us, it should be a welcomed friend.  I believe that competition makes not only teams better, but makes people better as well.

I do not envy or am not jealous of what I saw that Friday night.  If people have the capability of paying that much money for their kid to go to school, no sweat off my back!  Sometimes when competition comes our way, jealousy follows it.  Lesson – If you welcome competition, you also welcome the possibility to have some struggle (possible loss), which can quickly turn into jealousy.  Sometimes it is in those struggles where we really grow in life.  Count the blessings that God has given you.  If you try to start counting other peoples blessings, you will miss out the very blessings God has given you!  Parents, teach your kids that competition is a good thing!

Pastor Tim