Those who know me know that I have a problem with being overly competitive. That being said, I do think that a healthy level of competition makes things more fun. I may be one of the few Americans that doesn’t like to cheer for the underdog. I know that’s not really the American way but I like to cheer for the team or the player that should win. I like the idea of pure domination. I love it when an athlete comes along who is just that much better than everybody else. He started playing when he was just a boy. He began to sharpen his skills and he went through many long days doing the things that nobody else was willing to do. After years and years of blood, sweat and tears…it’s finally time for him to emerge from the shadows. When he does, it’s not even a competition. You begin to feel bad for those who step on the field with him. I love that!

I love it when I’ve practiced something so much that I know I’m going to win the competition. I don’t want to survive in life. I don’t want to survive in my marriage, my work, my friendships or in anything else I’m a part of. I don’t want to survive. I want to run up the score. I want to be so far above the opposition that tries to stop me that I almost feel bad for them. I’m not trying to advocate a prideful attitude but I think this can be a good mentality if we channel it in the right way. I believe that too many guys just want to do the bare minimum to make their marriages work. I believe that too many employees want to do just enough to pay the bills. This is definitely still something that I struggle with so I’m not saying that I’ve arrived but I don’t want to be that way. I want to be the guy that has paid his dues, done the hard work, weathered the storms and emerged as a champion. There are still tons of battles that need to be fought. There are still storms that need to be weathered but I believe that someday, perhaps, this can be my story.

What about you? Are you just trying to make it? Wouldn’t you love to be the clear favorite to win? I don’t want to be the underdog and I don’t believe that Jesus died so that we could be a bunch of underdogs. As Romans 8 puts it, I believe we are called to be “more than conquerors.” I don’t know what it means to be more than a conqueror but that sounds awesome! My challenge is that we would all set our sights higher and make it to where it wasn’t even a competition.