Should a Christian be Competitive?

Esther Emmanuel

Description

What does it mean to be competitive? What is the origin of competitiveness? Is being competitive part of God's plan for us? How did bible characters successfully cope with or enact competitiveness? Can we find purpose or lasting blessings through competitiveness? Should a Christian be Competitive? Humanity in general, is on treadmill of competitiveness. We are ensconced in the belief that success is tantamount to being competitive and vice-versa; we are encouraged to constantly compare ourselves to others and aim to be ahead of our neighbour in whatever capacity we fancy. However, there are no universal social guidelines for what constitutes competitiveness. The boundary of what is acceptable under the guise of competitiveness is depends on each individual's conscience and moral proclivity. The author, Esther Emmanuel, in this book explores the issue of competitiveness within the context of the Christian faith. This book is made up of 15 chapters and subdivided into five parts: 1. In the beginning - explores God's purpose for individual lives, the nature of individual gifting and the emergence of the competitive spirit in the Garden of Eden.2. Competitiveness in the family - uses the biblical narratives on Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, Hannah and Peninnah to highlight emotional issues associated with competitiveness in this context e.g. sibling rivalry, jealousy, envy, schadenfreude, emotional detachment from family members and the power of supplication3. Competitiveness in the workplace - the stories of Saul and David, Mordecai and Haman, Daniel and the Babylonians is used to explore the importance of social status, control, pride, self esteem narcissism and the paradigm of competitive collaboration.4. Competitiveness in the church - explores how competitiveness underrates serendipity, as well as the teachings of Jesus on this subject.5. Should a Christian be competitive: - examines the role of fear in competitive situations and explores the pursuit of excellence as an alternative to competitivenessIt reveals several vital issues such as: inadvertent labelling of behavioural or emotional disorders as competitiveness; elements of Christian values that cannot be compromised in a competitive scenario; strategies for coping with competitive situationsThis book provides insightful, bible-centred counsel to people who are inherently competitive, or those facing difficulties with relationships within their family, church or workplace as a result of overt competitiveness. It offers clarity, strength and wisdom necessary for such individuals to move on, and to fulfil God's destiny and purpose for their lives

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Prep Chroma Publishing
• Date de parution: 11 septembre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781909270350
• Langue: English

Extrait

Should a Christian be Competitive?
A Biblical Exposition of the “Must Win” Culture to Family, Work and Church Relationships
Esther Emmanuel
Copyright Esther Emmanuel 2012
The right of Esther Emmanuel to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN 978-1-909270-35-0
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief excerpts in magazines, articles and reviews.
Prep Chroma Publishing, 3000 Aviator Way, Manchester Business Park, M22 5TG Manchester. U. K.
Email: [e-mail]
This publication is designed to provide information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and the author are not engaged to render counselling or other professional services. If expert assistance is required the services of a competent professional should be sought.
Unless otherwise stated, scripture quotations taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation – www.lockman.org Used by permission.
To Joshua & Daniel
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prelude - Wake-up Call
Introduction
PART ONE: IN THE BEGINNING
Chapter 1: Created to Prosper
Chapter 2: Nature of God’s Blessings
Chapter 3: Competitive Spirit in Eden
PART TWO: COMPETITIVENESS IN THE FAMILY
Chapter 4: Jacob and Esau
Hollow Victory
Sibling Rivalry
Competitiveness and In-Laws Relationships
Chapter 5: Joseph and his brothers
Jealousy, Envy and Schadenfreude
Sibling Competitiveness and Detachment
Sharing Dreams and Visions with Family
Chapter 6: Hannah and Peninnah
Supplication not Subterfuge
PART THREE: COMPETITIVENESS IN THE WORKPLACE
Chapter 7: Saul and David
Social Status and Dedication to God
Competitiveness and Control in the Workplace
Chapter 8: Mordecai and Haman
Pride, Self-Esteem and Narcissism
Chapter 9: Daniel and the Babylonians
Competitiveness through Collaboration
PART FOUR: COMPETITIVENESS IN THE CHURCH
Chapter 10: King Herod and Baby Jesus
Competitiveness underrates Serendipity
Chapter 11: Teachings of Jesus
Competitiveness in ministry/service
Competitiveness in Financial Giving and Wealth
Chapter 12: After Jesus - The First Christians
PART FIVE: SHOULD A CHRISTIAN BE COMPETITIVE?
Chapter 13: Competitiveness and Fear
Chapter 14: Competitiveness versus Excellence
Chapter 15: Should a Christian be Competitive?
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Prelude - Wake-up Call
Lilly was my prayer partner. We would alternate weekly between her house and my house, to pray for ourselves, our families, friends, work issues and church. And on this particular evening, it had gone quite well.
Lilly and I attend the same church and have known each other for about 10 years. She is the stereotypical “English Rose” i.e. an upstanding, down-to-earth Christian lady, who would always speak her mind or not speak at all. However, roses do have thorns, and you do not want to be on the wrong side of Lilly. She likes to play up the tough side of her character but this is a facade. She is a lot softer than she wants you to believe.
On this particular evening, we finished praying earlier than planned and therefore could afford a mini social time together. There was a light discussion about personal likes and dislikes. At some point during that conversation, Lilly blurted – “I am a very competitive person”!
And rather unusually, I was discomfited. This precious lady had just spent about two hours, selflessly praying for people who had not directly asked for her prayers. Most would not even know that she had taken time and effort to pray for them. There is very little or no chance that she would get any sort of recognition or reward. But she goes on to describe herself as very competitive. Why would a presumably competitive person want to altruistically give time and skills to help colleagues and friends? I found myself asking: what does it mean to be competitive? Should or can a Christian be competitive? The more I reflected on it, the clearer I was, that I have been asking myself this question in various shades i.e. how do I successfully marry my work-family-social aspirations and ambitions with being a Christian? On a very practical level, should a Christian be part of the typical dynamics and struggles for recognition or power in the workplace such as attention-seeking, self-marketing, manipulative, cunning behaviours etc.? And it is not just in the workplace, we have the same situation in the church and within families particularly in the wider context of siblings and cousins. And if these behaviours are unacceptable, what is? How do I remain true to my faith, use my faith to affect my workplace and colleagues positively but also display excellence and accomplish at the highest levels? The travesty is that because these competitive behaviours have become the expected norm, remaining passive equally harbours precarious consequences. It can give the erroneous impression of: being naive, a pushover or one who lacks leadership skills disinterest in wanting to achieve, and be the very best that one can be inability to engage with one’s peers i.e. work as part of a team.
The vast majority of people including Christians that I meet or have the privilege to observe, promulgate a deep desire to be affirmed by other people as “important” or at the very least “significant”. It goes from mundane things like who has the last word in a meeting, to who has the control, power and influence over an assembly of individuals. However, most of these people cannot articulate to what end or specific benefits that having such an affirmation proffers. And worst is that the predominant benefit from those who can articulate it, is the right to exercise power and/or authority over other people. In other words, the majority of people who want power and influence do not seek it for a common good. It is not unusual to see people playing being competitive by undermining or banishing all perceived rivals (amongst other sly acts) to get to a position of authority, but totally clueless, with no plan or indeed knowledge about what to do next. How is a Christian expected to react to these scenarios? I accept that like earthquakes, hurricanes, death of loved ones etc. these are issues that we have no control over. However, the fact remains that Christians have to live under these conditions and in doing so manifest God’s love and purpose.
Previous attempts to have in-depth discussions with other Christians on this subject tend to end somewhat in ambiguous bible quotations, futile explanations that might at its best answer certain aspects but not necessarily the vast majority. The general consensus is that it is a tricky subject.
Following that eureka moment with Lilly, I found it quite difficult to push the subject into the background. It became rather ubiquitous. I began to notice acts of competiveness that would previously have gone unnoticed. There was an inexplicably strong urge to study this subject further, which has culminated in the book you are about to read.
I genuinely hope that it is an easy read for Christians and non-Christians. My prayer is that it expounds God’s wisdom and his perfect plan and purpose for all.
INTRODUCTION
When everyone is somebody; then no one is anybody – John Harvey
Introduction
A Christian, as used in the title for this book, is someone who has professed Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Saviour. And as a result, dedicated his/her life to following Jesus Christ’s teachings, and is also, continuously aspiring to become and remain an express image of him i.e. talks, acts and behaves as Jesus would or expect. In other words, an individual, dedicated to propagating the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, someone dead to himself/herself; who would willingly declare “it is no longer I, but Christ who lives in and through me” .
Other terms used to describe Christians with this persona include “Born-Again”, “Pentecostal” and “Evangelical” Christians. However, notional Christians and non-Christians would equally find the question(s) this book attempts to answer relevant and worthy of investigation.
The origin of a significant number of English words can be traced back to ancient Greek. And certainly, competition as we now know it was an essential element of ancient Greek culture. However, there is no corresponding abstract noun for “competition” in ancient Greek. 1 It is generally believed to have made its earliest appearance as a notion at about 700 BC in the work of a Greek poet, Hesiod, as Eris , the goddess of strife. This spirit gives birth to discord, painful toil, fearful sorrow, fighting, battle, murder, slaughter, quarrels, lies, lawlessness and ruin. In a latter poem, Hesiod, concedes that there is an elder goddess Eris, a driving force for progress, who stirs up apathetic men to work. He projected that this elder goddess is good for men. In Greek mythology, Eris, the spirit of competitiveness is responsible for getting one potter to compete with another potter, craftsman with craftsman, bard with bard and gets beggars to be jealous of other beggars.
Table 1 below shows that in today’s modern language and culture, competitiveness maintains these positive and negative connotation 2 Positives Negatives Spirited i.e. feisty, brave, determined, strong-willed, vigorous, energetic, high-spirited Aggressive i.e. violent, hostile, uncompromising, destructive, hard-hitting, belligerent, antagonistic, forceful Ready for action Bloodthirsty i.e. cruel, gory, murderous, vicious Viable i.e. live Cut-throat. i.e. ruthless
Table 1: Positive and Negative meanings of Competitiveness
In the same way, the dictionary meaning 3 of this word is somewhat both positive and negative, depending on where an individua