Competition is not a bad word.

In fact, when we use our God-given talents to be the best we can, we honor and glorify God. We often see the negative side of competition—the strutting and taunting—but that says more about the character of those who behave that way than about the act of competing.

I love it when scripture gives me an idea to write about like it did today. I was in 2 Cor. 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” We know this has nothing to do with sin because of the little phrase “in the body.” It’s talking about the body of Christ. Our sin was taken care of at the cross. Nobody in the body has rejected Jesus as their savior. Generally, theologians agree that this means all the things we do after we’re saved.

Then there’s also Galatians 6:4,

“Each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself and not in regard to another. For each one will bear his own load.”

On God’s scorecard, there’s only one name—yours. We are not measured by how well we do compared to “Bob”. Did your parents or coach ever tell you how you were not living up to your potential? That’s God’s measuring stick too. How well are we doing compared to how well we could be doing if only…If only I had spent more time in the Word. If only I hadn’t skimped on my giving. If only, if only, if only.

We might be able to get away

with excuses with people who can’t see inside us. Ironically, even though God is the only One who can see our hearts, He lets us think we can get away with excuses with Him…for a while. But when we appear before Him at the judgment seat, none of that will stand up.

One problem that plagues many Christians is we’re not satisfied with the gifts, skills, and talents God has personally chosen for us. We focus on what Bob has that we don’t and we’re tempted to whine. What does that say to God about our gratitude for what we do have? We need to do an assessment of our abilities and work on strengthening them. You ask, “How do I do that?” The same way you build muscles. You use them. If you have the gift of service, you serve. The gift of giving? Give. Stretch. Reach. Set bigger and bigger goals.

We are only in competition

with ourselves. And, like muscles that atrophy through non-use, our unused gifts will atrophy too. The verse above says, “each one will be recompensed for his deeds.” What does that mean? It means “to give something to by way of compensation.” We understand that, because we work for a paycheck. But try to get your mind around obligating God to compensate us for our deeds. And then think about what kind of reward I would get for my bad deeds. Would it be something negative or would it just reduce the rewards I could have gotten if my good deeds were greater? Any answer I give would be speculation, because the Bible doesn’t say more than it says.

Lest anyone misunderstand, I’m not promoting good deeds as a way to earn heaven. That only comes by trusting in Jesus alone to cover my sin. But the Bible clearly talks about our getting rewards in heaven. One verse that should excite all believers in Christ is Revelation 22:12, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves.” And God’s encouragement to hang in there from Galatians 6:9, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”

It might be good to ponder

these verses and ask yourself, “Do I deserve, or have I done anything to earn a reward?” There’s still time to impact the good vs. bad balance. God gifted us for service. The Bible says, “…as He wills” (1 Cor. 12:11). When we’re tempted to grump about our gifting compared to others, remember this verse. Our job is to use the gift(s) we’ve been given—everybody has at least one spiritual gift—for God’s glory, not our own. Beware. Pride lurks.

We started out talking about competition and how the world sees it. I hope you now have a little different perspective on how God views it and what you can still do to tip the scales in your favor. Thanks for reading.