The Hunter Games

Do you have a competitive spirit? 

I was raised in a family that enjoyed spirited competition.  We were taught to do our best.  Go hard.  Leave it all on the court, or the field, or wherever the challenge was to be engaged but make sure you did it within the rules.  We didn’t win every time.  Not by a long shot.  When the challenge was over, life resumed.  Competition had its place.  And, I think that’s a good way to put it.  It had its “place.”  At the end of the day, people were still people.  There were other things that mattered in life more than first, second and third.  Medals and ribbons were nice.  They meant something, but not every thing. 

 

I saw a story the other day about an early Easter egg hunt for preschool age kids in a small town in Colorado.  Because of the behavior of the parents, “future hunts” had to be canceled.  I believe they called it “aggressive parental involvement.”  When the hunt started, parents hopped the fence and motivated their children to hurry to as many eggs as possible.  They provided their children with a parental GPS for locating eggs!  Within a few minutes the hunt was over.  Many of the children found an egg or two.  Some didn’t get a single egg!  But some children achieved a full basket.  You can't help but wonder what "thought seedlings" are manifesting in an experience like this one.  Certainly, it is only "one" egg hunt and not near enough to argue for a full blown philosophy of life.  But, the expereince itself and the herd mentality that went along with it suggest there is something there that should get our attention.  Fast forward this reality show into the future.  I wonder what the middle school and high school years will look like if this “behavior” continues?  What happens when those same parents can’t cross over into the arena of live competition? What happens when their child doesn’t come in first, second or third?  What happens when they don’t make the team, win the position or get the accolade?   Will they have the tools of thought and heart that will be needed to help them sort through the emotional and psychological challenges that often come with such real life experiences?  Self-image, relational skills and a host of other things will hang in the balance, too.

Ambition and competition are good things I think.  Left to themselves they turn us into an unfeeling, obsessed with production, get-ahead-at all-cost culture.  We lose touch with what is noble and right in ourselves and life in general.  People can easily become tools we use for our own ends or obstacles that need to be conquered or removed.  And, as much as I wish I could say this applies to secular folk, I can’t.  Christians are in this arena as much as anybody.  Been to a soccer game lately…for little kids?  Watched any little league baseball?  Ever listened to somebody blow off steam about the politics that came to bear on a school competition for children that had more parents involved than children?  You know what I’m talking about. 

Paul reminded Christian slaves about the outlook they should possess as those who served in less than desirable circumstances.  In a truly “dog-eat-dog” world, Paul says:

Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ. – Colossians 3:22-23 (The Message)

We need Christians in the mix of things.  We need to do our best in whatever and wherever we choose to be involved.  We need to instill this in our children.  I don’t think the gospel is anti-ambition.  However, it does tell us to temper ambition with noble principles that keep ambition “between the bar ditches” to borrow a Texas expression.  That kind of excellence is a rare thing indeed.  Our culture needs to see it.  They need to see us model it in our schools, in games of skill, from the sidelines, in the stands, on Face book and in the coffee shop.  It is another way to let people know what the Word says about excellence through our lives. We work (and play) heartily but, we do it for the Lord.  

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas