What does the Bible say about competition?

In speaking thus of his authority Paul was not for one moment entering into a kind of competition with those who opposed him. They were anxious to commend themselves, and so get a footing with the Corinthians; and in doing this a spirit of competition got among them, and they began "measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves," which was a very unwise proceeding. In so doing they got no higher than themselves. It was all self. One man might be distinguished by this feature, another by that; but in comparing themselves with one another they never rose up to God, and to the measure which He had ordained.

The race, then, is the race of Christian life, and the contest that of well-pleasing to the Lord. With Christ as its starting-point, and Christ also as its goal, that race has to be run with patience by a faith which looks off from5 all other objects, to fix its gaze solely upon Him. But just as men did not, at the Grecian games, contend with halters round their necks, so neither is the Christian called to save himself by any effort or endeavour from the wrath to come; for as a sinner he has already fled for refuge to the hope set before him. He has run into the tower of his safety, and is safe.6 It is in his Saviour's name that he appears as a competitor within the lists, and by His Saviour's strength alone that he can hope to win. But there is a prize for those who overcome. And here we should note the contrast between the illustration and the living truth. At the trial of natural ability, all the competitors but one were sure to lose. In Christ, all are already more than conquerors, but such as draw back unto perdition by failing to continue in the grace of God. Yet, though in this sense every real Christian overcomes, there is another sense in which merit will be found and honoured, according to its measure, by the righteous Arbiter of all that has been wrought here in His name; a merit not original or inherent, but of grace. And it is in this latter sense, chiefly, that the apostle speaks of winning in this place.7

God has appointed a place for each saint. The Lord Jesus told the disciples before He left them that He was going to prepare the place for them. All that remains now is the short distance between our present abode and our eternal home. Paul speaks of this little interval as of running a race. In a human race, men in order to obtain a corruptible crown are temperate in all things. How much more should we be who run a race when the prize is an incorruptible crown! "Every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things." Paul was striving, therefore he was temperate. So he can say with the absolute certainty of obtaining the mastery, "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly. If no uncertainty why strive? The prize is sure to the one who strives, though his striving be ever so feeble; but the one who does not strive at all is a castaway. Again in a human race only one can win, only one receives the prize. In the heavenly race every runner, every one who strives, wins. Yea, sovereign grace says he shall, surely win. Let us therefore so run that we may obtain. The word of God, the Cross, the Resurrection, the Coming, the promised Glory, are all pledges to our winning. But he who in his heart is most assured of winning is most deeply conscious of almighty and sovereign grace.

Paul will not dare to link himself with those who take the attitude of comparing themselves with others. What measuring stick do they use? Nothing but one another! This is empty vanity. One will vaunt himself because he thinks he has the advantage over another in some fleshly way; and the atmosphere becomes merely that of rivalry, jealousy, arrogance. Are believers self-made individuals? Or are they not the product of the pure grace of God?

"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works." Here we are reminded that we have also to perform our priestly work. The priest had to consider, in cases of leprosy and so, as priests, we have to consider one another, not whether we are cleansed or not, for it has been authoritatively pronounced of us by the Great High Priest Himself, "now ye are clean," but we are to consider one another to provoke unto love and good works. The expression is remarkable "consider one another." There is but one, even the Lord Himself, who stands in the authoritative place of the Priest to the church, therefore we are to consider one another. How entirely is this exercise of our common priestly function nullified by again setting up an order of priesthood to prescribe to us. What is the Confessional? what the Absolution? — but the priest again pronouncing the leper clean! And how effectually does such a thought hinder our considering one another. We can only do this as standing in grace ourselves and recognizing others as standing in the same grace and the same nearness to God. It is as together standing in the holiest of all that we are to consider one another. There we are thus to help each other to detect what is inconsistent with that our high and blessed standing. There is no room for rivalry now — all are priests; but abundant room for love; and our love for each other is to be measured by the love that has brought us where we stand. And as to good works, they also are to be judged by the same standard. No lower standard than the sanctuary itself must now be taken to determine what are good works. What becomes the holiest itself alone becomes those sanctified to worship therein. It is not what men call good works, but what God estimates as such, to which we have to provoke one another. The costly ointment poured on the feet of Jesus, wasteful and extravagant in the eyes of an ancient or modern utilitarian, was a good work in the eyes of Jesus. The two mites of the widow more costly than the splendid offering of the rich. How little of what men think good is really so before God! and how entirely what God esteems as precious is despised among men! Hence Christ was despised and rejected of men; and hence really Christian works are now despised of them. How needful, then, is it for us to be in spirit in the holiest of all, to prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God!

But not only is there to be this constant provocation to love and to good works, it is also added, "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is."

(V. 3). Having touched upon the lack of unity in their midst, the Apostle, in one short sentence, exposes the root of the trouble. He says, “Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory.” Strife is the endeavour to belittle others; vainglory is the attempt to exalt self in the eyes of others. Anything that is said or done simply in opposition to someone else, or with the object of exalting self, will tend to destroy unity and raise discord. Thus the Apostle traces all discord among the people of God to the vainglory that has self, and self-exaltation in view. Even if we escape the gross folly of seeking to exalt self by boasting in birth, social position, earthly riches, or intellectual abilities, we may easily fall into the snare of spiritual pretension that seeks to exalt self amongst the people of God by means of spiritual gifts.

There is no verb at the beginning of verse 3, and to make good English we must supply one, as, for example, ‘[Let] nothing be done through strife or vainglory’, or, ‘Doing (or, Do) nothing according to party spirit’. ‘According to’ is the literal translation, and indicates the principle on which the thing is done, or the state of mind which produces the act. There are six different words in the Greek New Testament all translated ‘strife’ in the English New Testament. The particular one used here is the same as that translated ‘contention’ in 1:16 (AV). It has the meaning of ‘rivalry, party-spirit, factiousness, ambition, self-seeking’. It is listed as one of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:20.

One of the Grecian contests used by the apostle to illustrate the Christian race. All ran, but only one received the prize; let each, casting aside every weight and sin, so run as to obtain; not for a fading crown (of laurel, pine, or parsley), but an incorruptible one. 1 Cor. 9:24-25; Heb. 12:1. This is not a contest in which the unconverted have to strive, with the aim of obtaining salvation; but it is a race the Christian has to run as a matter of experience. Paul said, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" — of being with Him in the glory. Phil. 3:14.

Surely, now that we have laid some part of the horrible form of this vice bare from Scripture, our readers must shudder to think that the root of all these crimes lurks in their hearts. James does not hesitate to say that envy is a root of every evil work (ch. 3:16). It is worse than wrath or anger; none can stand before envy (Prov.27:4). It hinders growth in grace (1 Pet.2:1,2); is a proof of carnal mindedness (1 Cor.3:1-3); it is one of the works of the flesh (Gal.5:21); and one to which our spirits are especially liable (Jas.4:5), being produced by the prosperity and good deeds of others (Eccles.4:4), and also by arguments and disputes (1 Tim.6:4). Now to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Never let us give place to the devil, in allowing envy to sprout and germinate in our hearts; but let us ever check the first risings of an envious spirit.

The next two cases both press the great need of disciples for honest humility, but each from a different viewpoint. In the first case the disciples quarreled over who should be greatest among them. The desire to be great in our own circle of believers is a most common spiritual disease. We all naturally like recognition for ourselves, which involves others being set lower than we! Comparisons of this kind should be totally obnoxious to us. The Lord knew both what they said and the reasoning of their hearts, for He alone knows every motive of people. How admirable was His gentle wisdom in using a child as an object lesson! He set the child by Him, as though to say that He considers a child to be entitled to as much recognition as the greatest of them. To receive a child in His name was to receive Him, which involved receiving the Father who had sent Him. How contrary are the thoughts of God to those of His creatures! A child cannot give any place of prominence to a man, but a man's treatment of a child shows where his heart is. Showing such lowly character is true greatness, so he who can willingly take the lowest place is the one who is great -- not "greatest," for the Lord makes no comparisons in this matter.