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Competition
COMPETITION IS HELL
In C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters competition is seen as a picture of hell and the realm of Satan. Heaven and relationship with God is viewed as cooperation and community.
Interesting.
Now I like a sporting event as much or more as the next guy. And most of the things I do I’d like to get done just a bit before or better than another. I do enjoy competition.
But there is something to the thought that competition (winning so another loses, beating, defeating, humiliating another) is more hellish than divine.
The very nature of God is cooperation and community: Father, Son, Holy Spirit; Three in One. God does desire togetherness. He wants people together with him in heaven. He wants people together in families. He wants people together in congregations and community.
Interesting.
Maybe this will give you something to think about while you are waiting for the game to go to commercial. (Many of which are becoming more hellish than divine!)
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GETTING OFF THE HEDONIC TREADMILL ONE STEP AT A TIME
I read an interesting article recently from The Journal of Economic Psychology that talked about the quest for a better life. (Not something I have ever read before—a friend sent it to me.)
The upshot is that a better life is not found through infrequent big changes/events: new job, new house, winning the lottery, winning the Super Bowl, income tax rebate. Once a major event has occurred, the person soon becomes used to the new situation and the impact of the “boost” to well-being recedes.
Rather overall well-being is improved through frequent “small boosts” to well-being, with a non-activity period preceding each event. Specifically, the paper studied two groups of people: those who attended weekly worship services and those who exercised regularly. Not only do these activities give a brief, small boost to well-being, when engaged in regularly they are found to have a cumulative and long term effect on well-being. The paper reported that the frequency of engaging in these two types of activities was a positive predictor of a person’s sense of well-being.
Interesting.
So want a better sense of well-being? Worship weekly. Exercise daily. Maybe those who talk about religion serving as an “opiate” and exercise leading to a “high” are right.
Interesting.
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HE MUST HAVE BEEN SOMETHING!
There is only one way to understand how the disciples could leave behind their family and their occupations to follow Jesus: he must have been something.
Can you imagine dropping everything you are doing right now and walking off with Jesus?
Well, they had heard some things from him previously, some of them had spent some time with him and they may have even seen a miracle already. But it is still quite a sight to see them leave behind nets, parents and boats to follow Jesus. They had limited information and even fewer details about where they were headed. But off they went.
That should help us follow Jesus today. We can be cheered on today:
By the example of the eyewitnesses (They weren’t dopes; they would have sniffed out a fraud.)
By the greater, if not complete, information that we have about Jesus and his mission to rescue sinners
Interesting.
At the same time we should experience the same challenge that they had in the continued call to replacement—to re-place everything in our life into a lesser place than our devotion to Jesus.
Interesting.
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ONE REMINDER
Don’t forget that this Sunday, the first Sunday of the month, is our Service of Prayer and Anointing. It takes place Sunday, February 1, 12:30. We designed it for people who are facing acute pressures, concerns, heartaches.