Living in today’s culture, it is obvious life is engulfed in competition. People compete vigorously in sports, arts, entertainment, fashion, politics, and the list goes on. Sadly, it pits human against human. For winners, self-esteem is enhanced, ego is pumped, popularity is affirmed and in some events, finances are substantially rewarded. On the other hand, losers of competitions feel insignificant and egos and self-assurance are deflated. Even as individuals, we find competition within ourselves. We struggle with bettering ourselves physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. We compete with breaking old habits, beginning new and healthy lifestyles, and even strengthening our spiritual devotion to God and others.
While competition in any form can sometimes be seen as ugly and grueling, there is also a positive spin. Anyone who competes is driven to work harder, increase focus and simply strive to be a stronger and better person. I find it encouraging when the winners of awards acknowledge their colleagues as also being winners; recognizing that their hard work had value and significance, that they were winners in their own right. I believe losing a competition can lead us to work harder, re-evaluate current behavioral practices and strive to give one’s all.
In life, we are all recipients of the ultimate Grand Prize: God’s Love. It seems more and more that we are faced with Team Love or Team Hate. As a child of God, I am grateful that being on Team Love is not even an option. I choose to be a team player and love every human being of every race, nationality, and religion. As God is our Captain of Team Love, we should all be the best competitors we can possibly be and assure that Love Wins and that we did our part to build a better world.
Robert Fasol, Organist and Choirmaster
