1. What can the competitive spirit lead to?
In this world, many people are willing to do anything to appear better than others. For example, a businessman may use ruthless tactics to put himself above his rivals. An athlete may intentionally injure an opposing player in order to win. Or maybe a student who is competing for a place at a major university cheats on the entrance exams. Christians know that all this is wrong, since it is part of “the works of the flesh” (Gal. 5: 19-21). But could some of Jehovah's servants be fostering competitions in the congregation without even realizing it? It is important to answer this question, because this can affect the unity of our brotherhood.
2. What will we see in this article?
In this article, we will talk about what flaws can lead us to want to look better than our brothers. We will also look at the examples of various faithful servants from biblical times who were not carried away by this spirit. But first we must do a self-examination. Let's see how.
TAKE A SELF-EXAM
3. What questions should we ask ourselves?
It is a good idea to analyze ourselves from time to time. We can ask ourselves: “Do I need to compare myself with others in order to feel good about myself? What drives me to work in the congregation? Is it a desire to be better than others or at least better than a certain brother or sister? Or is it simply my desire to do my best for Jehovah? Why is it important to answer these questions? Let's see what the Bible says.
4. Why should we not compare ourselves to others, as Galatians 6: 3, 4 says?
The Bible tells us not to compare ourselves to others (read Galatians 6: 3, 4). Why? Because, if when comparing ourselves with others we feel superior, we can become proud. And if we feel inferior, we can get discouraged. Neither option reflects good judgment (Rom. 12: 3). A sister from Greece named Katerina * says, “I used to compare myself to other sisters who seemed prettier, more skilled in ministry, and friendlier. That made me feel like I was worthless ”. Let us remember that Jehovah did not bring us to him because of our beauty, ease of speech, or popularity, but because we are willing to love him and listen to his Son (John 6:44; 1 Cor. 1: 26-31).
5. What do you learn from what happened to a brother named Hyun?
We can also ask ourselves: "Do others see me as someone who always seeks peace, or do I get into conflict with others every two by three?" Let's look at the case of a brother named Hyun, who lives in South Korea. There was a time when he viewed those who had privilege in the congregation as rivals. He says: "I criticized them and almost never agreed with what they said." Which it was the result? He admits: "My attitude caused divisions in the congregation." Several friends of his helped him see that he had a problem. Hyun made the necessary changes, and today he is a very good old man. What do we learn? That we should take action if we notice that we have a tendency to foster competition instead of seeking peace.
LET'S NOT BE EGOCENTRIC OR ENVIOUS
6. According to Galatians 5:26, what defects can lead us to manifest a spirit of competition?
(Read Galatians 5:26). What defects can lead us to manifest a spirit of competition? One is self-centeredness. The self-centered person is proud and selfish. Another flaw is envy. The envious not only wants what another person has, but also wants that person not to have it. So, being envious of someone means hating them. Without a doubt, we want to flee from these defects like the plague.
7. What example helps us understand the damage caused by self-centeredness and envy?
Self-centeredness and envy resemble the impurities that pollute the fuel of an airplane. The plane may be able to take off; But if impurities clog the fuel lines, the engines may lose power just before landing and the plane crashes. Similarly, someone may have been serving Jehovah for some time; But if there is self-centeredness and envy within it, it will end up crashing (Prov. 16:18). You will stop serving Jehovah, you will hurt yourself and others. How can we avoid becoming self-centered and envious?
8. How can we fight self-centeredness?
We can fight against self-centeredness if we follow the advice that the Apostle Paul gave to the Philippians: "Do not do anything motivated by a conflictive or self-centered spirit, but humbly think that others are superior to you" (Philippians 2: 3) . If we think that others are superior, we will not compete with those who have more talents or abilities than we do, but we will be happy for them. This is especially true if they are using their abilities to praise Jehovah. For their part, if talented brothers also follow Paul's counsel, they will focus on the good qualities they see in us. The result will be that we will all promote peace and unity in the congregation.
9. What will help us control the tendency to envy?
What will help us to control the tendency to envy? Be modest, that is, recognize that we have limitations. If we are modest, we will not try to show that we have more talent and ability than other people. Rather, we will look for ways to learn from those who do certain things better than us. For example, if a brother in the congregation gives excellent public talks, we can ask him how he prepares them. If a sister cooks very well, we can ask her for some tips to improve. And, if a young person does not have a great facility for making friends, perhaps they can ask someone who does for suggestions. All of this will help us avoid envy and improve our own abilities.
LEARN FROM BIBLICAL EXAMPLES
10. What situation did Gideon face?
Let's think about what happened between Gideon, who was from the tribe of Manasseh, and the men from the tribe of Ephraim. With Jehovah's help, Gideon and his 300 men had achieved a great victory in which they could have been very proud. Ephraim's men went to talk to Gideon, not to congratulate him, but to argue with him. Apparently their pride was wounded because he had not invited them from the beginning to fight together with him against the enemies of God. They were so focused on protecting the honor of their tribe that they had not thought of the most important thing: Gideon had just contributed to honoring Jehovah's name and protecting his people. --Judg. 8: 1.
11. How did Gideon respond to the men of Ephraim?
Gideon humbly said to the men of Ephraim, "And what did I do compared to what you have done?" He then gave them a specific example of how Jehovah had blessed them. As a result, "they calmed down" (Judges 8: 2, 3). Gideon was willing to put aside his pride in order to keep the peace among God's people.
12. What do we learn from the Ephraimites and Gideon?
What does this story teach us? From the Ephraimites, we learn that we should not place more importance on protecting our honor than on honoring Jehovah. From Gideon, householders and elders can learn that if someone is upset with them for something they did, they should try to see things from their perspective. They can also congratulate you on something you did well. This requires humility, especially if it is evident that the other person is wrong. But keeping the peace is far more important than proving that we are right.
ILLUSTRATION:
Gideon speaks with Ephraimites who are armed.
Because he was humble, Gideon kept the peace with the Ephraimites. (See paragraphs 10-12).
13. What problem did Ana have, and what did she do?
Let's also look at the example of Ana. She was married to a Levite named Elcana, who loved her very much. But Elcana had another wife, who was called Penina. He loved Ana more than Peniná. However, "Peniná had children, but Ana had none." Peniná “always made fun of her to make her feel bad”, to the point that “Ana would end up crying and would not eat anything” (1 Sam. 1: 2, 6, 7). Still, the Bible does not indicate that Hannah somehow tried to get revenge on Penina. Rather, she opened her heart to Jehovah and trusted him to help her. We do not know if Peniná changed its attitude. What we do know is that Hannah regained and maintained inner peace, as the Bible says that "the sadness disappeared from her face" (1 Sam. 1:10, 18).
14. What do we learn from Ana's example?
What do we learn from Ana's example? If someone tries to compete with us in any way, let's remember that we can control how we react. We don't have to be provoked. Instead of paying bad for bad, let's try to make amends (Rom. 12: 17-21). Even if the other person does not change, we will maintain inner peace.
ILLUSTRATION:
Hannah leaves the tabernacle with a calm face as High Priest Eli watches her.
Trusting that Jehovah would help her, Hannah regained inner peace. (See paragraphs 13 and 14.)
15. How were Apollos and Paul alike?
Finally, let's see what the examples of the disciple Apollos and the Apostle Paul teach us. They both had enormous knowledge of the scriptures and were very well known and influential teachers. Furthermore, both of them had helped make many disciples. But neither of them saw the other as a rival.
16. What kind of person was Apollos?
Apollos was "a native of Alexandria," which was a first century cultural center. Apparently he was a good speaker and “knew the Scriptures very well” (Acts 18:24). When Apollos spent time in Corinth, some of the congregation there made it clear that they preferred him to other brothers, such as Paul (1 Cor. 1:12, 13). Did Apollos encourage that divisive attitude? It takes a lot to imagine. In fact, some time after Apollos left Corinth, Paul urged him to return (1 Cor. 16:12). Paul would never have asked that if he thought Apollos was dividing the congregation. Without a doubt, Apollos was using his abilities in the best way: to preach the good news and strengthen his brothers. We can also be sure that Apollos was a humble man. For instance,
17. What did Paul do to promote peace?
The apostle Paul was well aware of the good work that Apollos was doing. But he did not feel threatened by him. In the advice he wrote to the Corinthian congregation, we can see that Paul was humble, modest, and reasonable. Rather than being flattered that some said “I am Paul's,” he turned all attention to Jehovah God and Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3: 3-6).
18. In harmony with 1 Corinthians 4: 6, 7, what do we learn from the examples of Apollos and Paul?
What do we learn from the examples of Apollos and Paul? That all the hard work we do for Jehovah and all the success we may have in helping others to baptism is only possible because of Jehovah's blessing. Another lesson we learn is that the more responsibilities we have in the congregation, the more we can do to promote peace and unity. Elders and ministerial servants do this when they base their advice on the Word of God and focus not on themselves, but on our model, Jesus Christ. How grateful we are to have them! (Read 1 Corinthians 4: 6, 7.)
ILLUSTRATION:
The Apostle Paul and Apollos converse animatedly.
Knowing that Jehovah was blessing the work, Apollos and Paul did not see each other as rivals. (See paragraphs 15-18).
19. What can each of us do? (See also the box “Let's not promote competition”).
God has given all of us talents or abilities that we can use to serve one another (1 Pet. 4:10). We may feel that what we contribute is not much. But the little things we do to foster unity are like the little thread stitches that hold the pieces of a garment together. So let us strive to erase any trace of competitive spirit from within ourselves and do everything possible to promote peace and unity in the congregation (Eph. 4: 3).
We do not promote competitions
Without realizing it, we could help foster a spirit of competition in the congregation. This could happen if we make inappropriate comments about who is the best speaker, who makes the best comments, or which of the forerunners is the best of all. Perhaps we will compare an old man with another who has skills that we like. But the elderly are imperfect human beings. And, if one of them sees that they are always being compared to another, they can start to see them as a rival. That would do a lot of damage to the congregation.
WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?
Why should we do a self-exam?
It is a good idea to analyze ourselves from time to time. Because, if when comparing ourselves with others we feel superior, we can become proud. And if we feel inferior, we can get discouraged. Neither option reflects good judgment
What will help us not to foster a competitive spirit?
That we should take action if we notice that we have a tendency to foster competition instead of seeking peace. If we think that others are superior, we will not compete with those who have more talents or abilities than we, but we will be happy for them. This is especially true if they are using their abilities to praise Jehovah.
What have the examples of Gideon, Anna, Apollos, and the Apostle Paul taught you?
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