Christians and Competition !

Bible Reading:  If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Phil 2:1-8 (NRSV)

Reflection:

This week in the college there is a real sense of "competition" growing. We have the next event in our Saints Cup Competition with Saint Francis College - women's netball. The Males are also gearing up for the final rugby league match. We have "promo" videos and the competition is heating up.

Competition is in today's world the heart of most sports - beating others, being better than others, is proclaimed in today's sports world as being a good thing. People are rewarded for being the best. Sports competitors can earn millions of dollars for being the best. The team that wins has the honour of the "Saints Cup".

When I was a teenager I began to question the whole idea of competitiveness as being a good thing. This came about when in youth group and at church I reflected on the teachings of Jesus and the early church, but it also came about from, what was for me, a "life changing" experience.

As a teenager I played competitive tennis. Not because I wanted to be the best, but simply because I enjoyed the game, the friendships and the exercise. I was in a team of four girls who played doubles. We were all Christians, we worshipped together with our families, attended youth groups together, and we came from what many people would call good Christian families.

By some amazing miracle our team made the grandfinals of the tennis competition. We were excited and amazed. On the day of the finals we turned up to the tennis courts and our families came along to support us. Just before the game was to start the other team turned up, one of their players was in tears, just outside the courts she had trod on a broken beer bottle and cut her foot quite badly. With no time to get medical attention the game started. The first match was won by my partner and I. According to the rules of doubles at that time we then had the choice of either staying on to play the next match or resting while our team mates played their match. As team captain the decision was mine to make. I decided that although we were very hot and tired we would keep playing. Why? Because I felt sorry for the team we were playing, the girl who had hurt her foot was in pain and needed to get some basic first aid for her foot. I chose to let her rest so she could get the help she needed. The end result was that the injured girl was a brilliant player, with some medical attention and a rest, her team went on to beat us and win the grand final. It was disappointing, but I had enjoyed the game and was still amazed that we had even come 2nd place - to me that was wonderful in itself. What happened next, however, is something I will never forget.

My team members and their parents came over to me angry, rude and abusive. They hurled accusations at me; "How dare you care for that girl... we lost because of your stupid decision . . . you don't care about others when you're in a competition you care for your team members - that's what sport is all about."

That abuse opened my eyes to the ugly side of competition, not just in sport but in the whole of life. All too often competition excludes love. These people, who believed themselves to be good Christians, saw no place for love and compassion when it came to competition. We see this attitude so often in competitive sports - it is this attitude that leads parents to bash a referee in children's sports, it is this attitudes that leads sports competitors to take performance enhancing drugs and cheat, it is this attitude that will cause competitors to deliberately harm another person to get them out of a match. It seems that faith in Jesus has no effect on our competitiveness.

How do we respond to this competitiveness? I believe the important thing is that when we are called to be Christian that means that we are required to live as Christians in the whole of our lives - including our sports competitions. Jesus did not see the goal of life as being in competition with others but rather as cooperative service based on love. This is the expectation of Christian living that Paul writes about in his Letter to the Phillippians in the reading above.

As Christians we are called to love and serve others, we are called to humble ourselves to live lives filled with love, service, respect, cooperation, respect and joy.

What does this mean for our Saints Cup games? Perhaps the following story from Anthony de Mello can help:

"Jesus Christ said he had never been to a football match. So we took him to one, my friends and I. It was a ferocious battle between the Protestant Punchers and the Catholic Crusaders. The Crusaders scored first. Jesus cheered wildly and threw his hat high up in the air. Then the Punchers scored. And Jesus cheered wildly and threw his hat high up in the air. This seemed to puzzle the man behind us. He tapped Jesus on the shoulder and asked. “Which side are you barracking for, mate?” “Me?” replied Jesus, by now visibly excited by the game. “Oh! I’m not barracking for either side. I’m just here to enjoy the game.” The questioner turned to his neighbor and sneered, “Hmm, an atheist!”

Let's enjoy the fellowship, the fun and the game  and not get stressed about who wins!!

Reflect this week:   Reflect on the following questions this week.
How do I cope if I lose a game? How do I live my faith in all parts of my life - at sport, at home, at uni, at church, at the pub? What do I need to change in my daily life in order to become more Christlike?.

.(Reflections are by Rev'd Jenny Willsher, Head of College, to support students of St Martin's College in their spiritual journey. Students are welcome to discuss the reflections further at anytime, just call in to my office.)