Daily Devotional: January 12th, 2020

The Competitor

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

Colossians 3:23

Playing Chutes and Ladders or Candyland with a child is pure joy. Whether they win or they lose, the act of playing the game causes them equal delight.

Once a child grows up, they make a change, the act of playing the game no longer is the focus or the piece that causes joy, but winning becomes the only time that joy is felt. There no longer is delight in losing. From athletics to academics the journey no longer is the focus.

We all miss the times that we find that joy in the journey, and it’s not always; a healthy understanding of competition causes us to strive for excellence. It’s when that competition comes though at the expense of others that we find harm. We all don’t intentionally look to have harmful competition with others, but we sometimes disregard the person we’re challenging the most, ourselves. It’s important for us to keep sight that we need to have healthy competition with ourselves, and not go down a pathway towards harming ourselves.

Prayer

Lord, help me keep a humble spirit throughout my personal and professional growth. Lead me to have healthy competition with others and more importantly myself. Protect me from the temptation of negative talk and provide me the guidance to keep focus on well earned personal and professional gains. Amen.