Competing for love

Have you noticed that everything in life is a competition? We are constantly trying to make ourselves feel important and love by bettering the next person. Everyone does it, whether you think you do or not. I do. A lot. Without even thinking about it.

Think about it. Take a game of football for instance. The two teams are competing to see who is better. Why? I have no idea. I guess just to say our team is better than yours. TV shows. Reality shows. People competing against each other. The funniest thing is that people are using TV shows of people competing to compete against other shows of people competing for better ratings. You might have to read that one twice. In a group of friends, everyone is trying to top the stories of the others in hopes that theirs will be the best. On myspace and facebook, people spend hours taking that perfect picture from that perfect angle that makes you look the best. Everyone looking for approval. Everyone looking to make themselves look better than someone else.

My favorite form of competing is in a game called World of Warcraft. I never got into it myself, but it's fun to make fun of. People dedicate their lives to this game, pay a monthly fee, and don't stop playing. What is the main goal? To have a better character than everyone else. There is no prize. There is no end to the game. The only thing you get is a sense of love and approval from others. From a computer game? Are you serious? Are you so deprived of love and attention that you slave over a computer game just to better someone else?

Why did you just buy that new shirt? To look good. Why do you have to look good? To look better than the person next to you. Why do you have to look better than the person next to you? If you don't know the answer to that, here it is...because it makes you feel loved. Someone saying, hey I like that shirt, will make you feel a certain small amount of love. That maybe someone cares about you. Why did you buy that really nice car? Uhhh...it get's good gas mileage? Really? I drive a 92 and it gets 35 on the highway.

Now now, before you take offense there is nothing wrong with buying nice things. There is nothing wrong with having a new car or a new shirt. However, there is something wrong with using those things to get your fix of the "feel goods". Your source of love comes from God. That is, if you let it. The world can offer you nothing compared to the way God can make you feel. His love is unconditional and unlimited. When that shirt goes out of style in two months, the love from others will stop. When that car breaks down, the love will stop. When Warcraft fades out, no one will care that you are a level 70 night elf with magic aura blasting arrows (if you play WoW, I'm sorry...I have no idea) But God's love will never end. And that's the problem with competing for love. You don't always win when you set your heart on worldly things. But with God, you don't have to compete. It's there no matter what.