Rivalry v. Contentment

Have you ever had a rival?

I don’t mean a bit of friendly competition in sports. Nor am I referring to toddlers who compete for the attention and affection of their parents. I’m thinking in terms of a more consistent detractor. A rival certainly does not feel like a friend or like family. When rivalry comes into play, its goal is not so much to win the game as it is to remove you from the field.

There are very real forces that whisper lying innuendos that assault your mind, your will, and your emotions in the hope of causing you to turn on yourself and then to turn on others.

It is hard to escape the messages and messengers that tell us we are not good enough, young enough, smart enough, fast enough, and rich enough. We are bombarded in the hope that we will shrink to their expectations. It is only human nature that we would want to deflect this incessant bullying that implies we are never enough. When this harassment reaches a critical point, some will yield by conforming and copying, while others rebel as they sling back accusations of their own.

We judge when we feel judged.
We shame when we feel shame.
We hate when we dislike ourselves.

When we’ve been bankrupted, it is not long before we want to rob others. It is a cycle in which everyone loses and nobody wins.

But what if you discovered that the life you have always wanted was outside the realm of competition? What if you learned you did not have to lose to opt out of the game? What if you discovered you couldn’t lose? What if you could not only think outside of the box but also choose to live outside of it?

Paul tells us godliness with contentment is great gain. Godliness is the ability to adopt God’s vantage point. This means just as we acknowledge how He sees others, we embrace how He sees us.

Contentment and being truly comfortable in your own skin won’t breed complacency; they will release creativity! Rather than compete for what was never meant for you … you can have the energy to discover what is yours.