Competitive Spirit
How competitive are you?
If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another. - Galatians 5:25-26
Life can be a competition.
We compete in sports. We compete against one another for jobs. We compete to win the bid in a negotiation. We compete for the bast parking space at an event.
Competition seems to play a role in almost all we do in life, and yet there are times when winning out and eliminating all other players or options is not a good thing.
Winding up with the winning strategy is not necessarily a bad thing. Someone has to take the lead at times. And it is easy to get bogged down in discussions when each person has a different idea.
Combining approaches doesn't always work. We can get lost in the details. But working together has its advantages.
Today's reading reminds us that the Holy Spirit is an agent of collaboration rather than competition, bringing us together to solve problems and seek out opportunities rather that setting us against each other.
I have found that the Holy Spirit can guide me in ways I had not imagined, bringing me in touch with people I wouldn't have thought to encounter, if I even knew they existed.
I may not know what the outcome might be. In fact, I have found that it is best not to try to figure it out. That will only cause me to avoid the encounter. Why go there? What benefit can it be to do that?
These questions keep me from experiencing all the Spirit has in store.
Instead, I go, thinking one outcome is possible, only to find numerous others I had not imagined.
If there is a way to work together, rather than compete, what harm can come in trying?
Now, I have discovered that many attempts fail. We are not always on the same page when it comes to teaming up, and that's ok. The timing may be off. If we are not willing to be led by the Spirit, we need to wait until we can let go and let God.
But in the end, following the lead is always better than going it alone. At least that is what I have found. And it can be a fun ride.
More to come...