Called to Compete

Competition Refines Us

competition in and of itself is neither good or bad, right or wrong, it is simply and objectively a part of life.

It’s how we compete as Human beings that will be found wise or foolish, right or wrong, good or bad. One big question I want to ask you as we begin this series is “What kind of competitor are you?”

I remember competing for many things in my life as a teenager. I competed for a starting position on my high school’s football team, a varsity wrestling team lineup, a job in a local food spot, I even remember competition for friendships and social status which were much harder to score but still just as if not even more competitive through my teen years. Competitive environments create strong memories because they can be so intense and at times the stakes can be extremely high.

In the mid 1990’s the North Tonawanda High school wrestling team found a mixture of Coaching and competency that turned into something that school had never seen. The two coaches, Brothers, Dan and Dave Fire along with their assistant coaches dedicated themselves to training and developing the best possible wrestlers. As the team of coaches poured themselves into the effort, a culture of loyalty and determination arose.

During an intense season of competition one of the North Tonawanda wrestlers found himself in trouble with the law. He had broken various laws that included drug-use related issues. As the young man sat in the courtroom wondering what would become of his life Dan Fire arrived into the courtroom to speak on his behalf. Coach Dan Fire had written a character reference for the young wrestler and was given a chance to speak to the court. With an offer to hold the young man accountable to mentoring and training the young wrestler received probation rather than Jail time.

During another season of intense competition The Fire Brothers had their team of wrestlers gathered on the giant yellow school bus when they noticed one young wrestler was missing. In the pre-dawn moments of a Saturday tournament (with limited time) the coaches decided to go after their wrestler. They requested that the bus driver make a stop along the way of the route to the tournament. The stop was quickly approved and shortly after the busload of wrestlers saw the missing wrestler walking from his parentless home to join the team and wrestle the day away.

The team on the bus saw something in the life of their coaches that I believe is one of the most critical components to Competing well in any setting. Loyalty.

These gospel shaped coaches and their assistants were loyal they were loyal to a people, to a value, and even loyal in the midst of loss and injury.

It’s how we compete as Human beings that will be found wise or foolish, right or wrong, good or bad. One big question I want to ask you as we begin this series is “What kind of competitor are you?”

What are you loyal to?

I want to submit to you today that Competition is part of everyone’s life and it’s in the most competitive moments of life, when the stakes are at their highest, our loyalties are most clearly seen.

TO be clear, when I say competition be careful not to check out and focus only on whatever your area of focus is. Competition is all around us at various levels. It’s not just athletics or recreational types of environments. sometimes the fiercest competitions are much harder to score because we are the only ones who see the scoreboard....Relationships, Identity, emotions, are all somewhat invisible scoreboards that we compete for and in and often without clearly defined metrics or clearly defined rules of play.

Win or lose, pass or fail, live or die - the outcome of the competitive environment will reveal what has captured our core loyalties.

and the people around us, if their paying attention, will see them.

You can say your loyal to stuff all day long but that doesn’t mean you are right!?

Scripture says it this way

Proverbs 20:6 ESV

6 Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?

Steadfast Love is another way of saying Loyalty here.

anytime we find ourselves striving or training or racing toward a desired outcome we are competing AND THIS reveals what we are loyal to. Your deeds of devotion in those moments are directly connected to what you hold most dear.

Lifting in the offseason vs NOT lifting in the offseason

Studying for the test vs NOT studying for the test