Jonathan R. Schmidt

Grace versus Competition

Last week I co-led a soccer camp for children in grades 1-6. Myself and the other lead instructor had a difficult time trying to create games that would reinforce teamwork instead of competition. Yet, in many ways it seemed natural to create games that were focused on competition. In fact, many children seemed to enjoy the competition of some of the drills we tried. This debate about whether competition is healthy or harmful has been in my mind a fair bit, heightened by taking a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Waterloo. Henri Nouwen in his book “The Return of the Prodigal Son” views competition as a distraction from our God-given right to belong to God’s kingdom. Nouwen in his fiinal chapters suggests that much of competition in this world tellls us that we need to jump higher, run faster or get better grades, etc. in order to be worthy of anything. In essence, Nouwen is suggesting that competition portrays to us that we need to earn everything in life, and that if we are not the best, or close to the best, then we deserve very little. Many of you reading this are probably noticing the contradictions between the philosophy of competition and the basic Christian theology of grace. God tells us that we deserve the kingdom of God and deserve to be a part of God’s kingdom, not because we are spiritual giants, or we read our Bible more than other people, but simply because you or I as a sinner asked for forgiveness. I truly believe that Nouwen’s understanding of how the world makes us feel inadequate by its competition and how God wants to tell us that we belong to him just for coming to him is a deeply profound word that we all should hear. I pray that I would be able to listen more to my belonging to God, instead of the competition of the world.