TRau-Ma-TIzed.
The Dangers Of Competitive Jealousy.
Photo credit: Pinterest
I think that we are all traumatized…
I’m not talking about the usual trauma caused by negative circumstances we know about.
Growing up, we all went to schools where at the end of the term or school year, three individuals are made to stand on the podium and awarded.
And the crazy part is, there can only be three, everybody else has to cheer them on.
This has created the idea that…
Greatness and success has limited slots.
It’s a wiring that one way or the other we have all had. As long as you live in this world.
There’s nothing wrong with the system honestly…there’s just everything wrong with how we interpret it.
So we are constantly alarmed when someone succeeds, especially in the area we crave for success, as if to say…
One limited slot is gone.
But is that really the case? Is the table of greatness already almost filled?
And for some, it manifests as that excessive push to “make it”, like if they don’t someone else would beat them to it and they would never succeed.
So we have people chasing when they should build, envying when they should honour, and settling when they should aim for the skies.
Stories…
David chose to spare Saul’s life even though he was also anointed and Saul was going to kill him.
David wasn’t insecure. He knew if he was meant to be King, he would be King; he did not have to kill the King.
Did he eventually get to the throne? Oh yes he did.
Daniel once did something for one of the kings of Babylon, and he was going to receive honour and be placed in a very high position in the kingdom.
But guess what?
He instead asked the King to put his three friends at those positions of influence, he was comfortable at the gate.
The funny thing is, the next time the king needed help; they went looking for Daniel at the gate. His greatness was still intact even in the presence of other great men.
Think about the boy Joseph…
He interpreted the dreams of the king’s servants knowing fully well that he himself wanted in on palace duties.
He wasn’t insecure. In fact he wanted to be recommended.
And that’s it. There’s something successful people know and that’s partnership over competition.
In contrast, if you think about the story of Cain and Abel…
The sacrifice of Abel was accepted and that of Cain was not. But you know what God didn’t say?
There was no place God said he couldn’t accept both sacrifices, if only Cain did what was right.
Cain chose competition over collaboration. He simply could have asked Abel what made his sacrifice acceptable too and that would have solved his problem. But he instead chose to kill his brother.
Lastly, do you remember how Joseph’s brothers sold him to slavery?
In fact if we backtrack the story a bit, they were gonna kill him. Like, eliminate him. The same person who was destined to keep them from dying during the great famine.
Guess what? He wasn’t even listed in the twelve tribes of Israel. They were just as great as he was, maybe even greater but they couldn’t see because they were blinded by competition.
I leave you with these words and a principle to follow…
The table of greatness and success has no limited slots.
And as is popularly said…
“The sky is huge enough for every bird to fly”
So here’s a very powerful law…
The next time you see someone with the kind of success you want, celebrate and honour them—especially if they are your friends and family members. It opens the door to you too.
Although we have been wired with the idea that only “3” people make the podium to be awarded, it’s quite different in life.
The table of greatness and success is always adding more seats. The question…
The real question…
Is that, are you going to be seated there?
Or would you let the greatness of others or envy stop you.
As a general rule for my life, I celebrate great men; but I don’t because of that undermine my own greatness.
So I ask the question again…
Are you going to be seated there?