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Competition

             Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. (I Peter 3:8)

 

          The first thing that came to mind as I read this verse this morning is “Wait!” – Peter’s admonition to them isn’t to go out and win the world for Christ. It’s not to perform miracles. It’s just to love one another. Everything else fits into that. And why did they need to be reminded about that? Because contrary to the opinion of some, the First Century Church was not some marvelous commune in which everything was practically perfect in every way.

            I frequently hear comments about how hypocritical the Church is. And I’m sure there are hypocrites in the Church. But I have to wonder to what those venting their spleens mean. A glance through the New Testament will make it clear that the Church was never the perfect thing some people seem to think it is.

            Where that might help us is in our realizing that we’re not modern day failures in comparison to some elite community in the First Century. It’s not a competition.  But that’s the problem. It’s not a competition. We don’t level up. We never become “good enough” – or we already are good enough because we’re in Christ.

            And as I think about my struggles with “not good enough,” a lot of it comes down to the same struggle people have with money. How much money is “rich enough”? A little more than I have, and a little more than he has. What constitutes “good enough”? A little (lot) better than I am, perfect, or at least better than she is.

          And that’s where humble comes in. 

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