Community, Consensus, Collaboration and Christ: A Christian answer to the question of competition

Rupert Kaye writes:

I would go so far as to suggest that, at this juncture, the role of competition in education and wider society deserves further philosophical and empirical scrutiny. Questions might include: Is competition always a good thing? Is competition always a bad thing? When is competition good? When is competition bad? And for whom? Adults? Children? The rich and powerful? The poor and vulnerable? (And what do we mean by ‘competition', ‘good', ‘bad', ‘education' and ‘society' anyway?!)

Yet, having said all that, I sense that public life is, in many ways, far less competitive and combative and much more consensual and collaborative than it was in the last quarter of the 20th Century. Pertinent examples might include: interdenominational and ecumenical partnerships; interfaith dialogue; cross-party political cooperation on a range of issues; co-sponsorship of R&D (Research and Development) by business ‘competitors'; and the pooling of national resources for really big projects (e.g. the International Space Station). Some commentators even claim to have spotted examples of joined-up-thinking and meaningful inter-departmental collaboration in national government!

Paradoxically, individuals seem much more prone to contrast themselves (in terms of body shape, personal wealth and intellectual prowess) with their peers and - perhaps more significantly - with celebrities and stars. Hence our nation's insatiable hunger for more reality TV; more big-money game shows; and more celebrity magazines.

In such a culture, it is unsurprising that so many teenagers and pre-teens decide that, because they are not as thin and/or as beautiful as the supermodels they see everywhere in the media, they are ugly failures... and, as such, might as well eat, drink and smoke because their bodies are no good anyway! Similarly, many teenagers and pre-teens decide that, because they are not successful athletes/footballers/gymnasts, they are a waste of space... and might as well stop participating in sport and give up on all physical activity completely.

All too often, teachers see youngsters surrendering right across the curriculum: 'I can't learn French'; 'I'm no good at art'; 'I'm useless at ICT'; 'I'll never understand calculus'. Of course, many young people may never be as good as they would like to be... but they CAN be more proficient than they are now... because past failure does not necessarily indicate that future success is impossible.

All of us - young and old - need to hear the Gospel truth: that although we may be less adept in some areas of our lives than other people, God loves us. And God's love is unconditional; He loves us and it does not matter what we can or cannot do. God does not compare us to other people; He accepts us as we are. Likewise, God does not want our shortcomings to limit or define us for the rest of our lives. Quite the contrary: He takes our weaknesses and turns them into His opportunities!

In the Kingdom of God all can have prizes! Not only that, but everyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour shares in the ultimate prize: the gift of eternal life.

If we allow our present feelings of inadequacy to completely control our future we actually devalue ourselves as unique and precious human beings. The Bible teaches us that we are all made in the likeness of God! We are unique and loved by God regardless of whether we are a straight-A student or struggle academically; whether we are athletic or obese. But we each owe it to ourselves to take care of our body, mind and spirit so that we might be blessed by God and be a blessing to others.

So, what would be the biggest help for young people in today's money, body-shape and celebrity obsessed society? Ultimately, the answer is Jesus. We all need to hear the Good News of Christ; we all need to accept that God loves us just as we are; and we all need to hear that Jesus died to set us free.

But, failing this, a significant step in the right direction would be for all schools to become communities modelled on the Kingdom of God. In such schools parents, students, governors and staff would all strive to be less competitive and combative and more consensual and collaborative; serving others would be more important than personal advancement; the success of the community would matter more than individual glory. In the words of Jesus: “The first shall be last and the last shall be first” (Mark 10: 31).

Anyone wanting to find out more about the teaching of Jesus should read the Gospel of Mark or the Gospel of Luke in the Bible.

Posted on 14 April 2004