"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:24-25
Most people have a competitive nature. This is one of the reasons why professional sports are so popular. We like to be part of a winning team. Indeed, the idea of competing against others helps us to perfect our skills and talents and improve our self-worth.
Healthy competition devoid of jealousy is good for human development. It gives us a focus and goal to strive toward while giving us a sense of motivation that can lead to innovation. We each have unique gifts and talents given to us by our creator. Healthy competition is about expressing those gifts and talents to the best of our abilities as we are matched against others who are doing the same. It should not be discouraged. Nor should we give everyone the impression that competing against others is wrong.
In today’s text, the writer is encouraging believers to spur each other to do good works. Simply stated, he wants them to compete against one another in doing good work. Imagine how dynamic the church would be if this spirit of spiritual competition was not discouraged. In too many cases, believers are discouraged from spurring one another to do good works.
Believers should spur one another to pray more fervently. This can be done simply by checking one another and encouraging each other to pray daily. We should spur each other to serve more faithfully. One of the reasons twenty percent of the people in most churches do eighty percent of the work is because we are spurring each other to do good work. What if we were giving out awards or trophies to those who invest more of their time and talents to the most committed Sunday school teachers or small group facilitators?
The entertainment industry has several award ceremonies to reward those who excel in their respective fields. Why can’t we do the same in the church? Every church should have an award night to recognize those who volunteer the most hours, give the most money, help the most people, etc. People don’t necessarily need to know how many hours or money were given, they just need to know those who led the way and gave the most. This may seem controversial, but the reality is that we often lament the fact that church people are not giving enough of their time, talent, and treasure to the Lord’s work, yet we often fail to publicly acknowledge and encourage those who do a little more than most.
Jesus certainly favored the idea of healthy competition in the body of Christ. The Parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), speaks to that idea. Jesus wants us to spur one another to do good work. After all, we will not get the same heavenly reward when we transition to glory. God will repay each person according to what they have done (Romans 2:6).
What if believers were spurring each other to love like Christ? Imagine how beautiful and pleasant it would be if brothers and sisters in a congregation were engaged in a love competition. Wow! One of the reasons Jesus build His Church is to provide believers with an environment where they can be spurred to do good work. So then, we should embrace any and every opportunity to compete against one another in love for the expansion of God’s kingdom on earth.
Questions for Personal Reflection
How can you spur other brothers and sisters to do good work in your church?
Why is competition in the body of Christ not necessarily negative?
Prayer- Blessed Lord, please give me the wisdom to spur other brothers and sisters to do good work. When I am challenged to do more for your kingdom, please help me not to feel slighted, but embrace the opportunity to do more to the glory of your name.