I’ve always been competitive.
Competitive in everything: card games, sports, exams, races. About a month after getting married, I suggested keeping a tally of our board game wins/losses, to see who was “winning the marriage.” I was only half joking when I asked. My wife was fully serious when she said no.
So needless to say, when I started to take on ministry leadership roles as a student, I had to check my heart. I knew that ministry was not a competition. But old habits don’t die on their own.
What's your poison?
Perhaps taming the competition beast is not your challenge, but anyone can fall into the trap of ministry comparison.
You don’t start leading a small group because you want it to be better than someone else’s. But you may find yourself comparing how many people came out to yours and theirs.
You don’t wish bad evangelism experiences upon other Christians, but when someone shares an amazing story of a new believer, you find yourself complaining to God that you never get to see any fruit.
Jesus’ disciples were no strangers to ministry comparison, pride, and jealousy. Check out this story in Mark 9:38:
“‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.’”
Three roots of the comparison-itis
Why do we compare our ministry efforts and our ministry fruit? What is at the root of ministry comparison? It could be a number of things.
Symptom 1: Finding your identity in performance
Whether it’s our grade point average or our resume, the world is constantly telling us that our identity is in what we do or what we have accomplished.
Ministry is not immune to this thinking. We can simply transfer our performance mindset from things the world cares about to things the church thinks about. As long as you find your worth in how you perform (even at God-focused activities), you can always compare yourself to someone else.
Symptom 2: Finding your reward in what others think
I’m not gonna lie: I really like it when others notice the good work I’m a part of.
I had a couple of years being a ministry leader at Western University where we were probably the biggest P2C-Students group in Canada. I had no trouble sharing those stories.
I've also had years where the ministries I led shrank in breadth and depth. I found myself wanting to justify our lean results or blame outside circumstances so people knew it wasn’t my fault.
But either way, the judgment of others is fallible, fickle, and fleeting.
Symptom 3: Caring about your own kingdom
This could show itself in a few different ways:
You discourage someone from exploring a variety of different Christian communities, because you need them to be to choose yours.
You use manipulation or coercion when you invite someone to a Christian event.
You are unable to truly be excited when you hear of other Christians experiencing more ministry success than you.
All of these and more could be signs that actually you only want God to get the glory if you can get the credit.
Three treatments for comparison-itis
What are the antidotes for these internal comparison diseases?
Jesus’ responded to the disciples’ ministry comparison game in Mark 9:39-41:
“‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said. ‘For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.’”
Treatment 1: Find your identity in Jesus
Jesus explains why they need not fear these other workers: “because you belong to the Messiah.” What a thought! And what a foundation.
I had always told myself that being Jesus’ child was more important than being Jesus’ ambassador. But it was hard to know if those words were true deep down, especially when things were going well.
For my first fifteen years of ministry as a student and a staff, the ministries I had been a part of had always grown year-to-year. Then we had a rough year at York University. There was an university strike that killed our momentum.
Many students we poured into stepped back from ministry. Many students who stuck around weren’t aligned with our vision.
Some of it was out of our control, and some of it was because of poor choices on our part. I would never wish for those things to happen, but it was one of best things for my heart to go through.
Because my hope in Jesus held true. I could still find joy in knowing Christ. The erosion of my ministry success proved my identity in Jesus.
Treatment 2: Find your reward in what God thinks of you
While other humans are inadequate judges of our ministry, God is sees it all. He doesn’t miss a simple cup of water given in his name. And he doesn’t just notice our service, he rewards it! Our Father isn’t judging us by the measure of our results, but by who we’re labouring for.
And whose name were these works being done in? Jesus’ name.
With God we’re not the flavour of the month that's forgotten when the next big thing comes along. We’re the apple of his eye, his treasured possession, his chosen people. He will test our work, but as the One who died for us to secure our eternal destiny.
Treatment 3: Care more about God’s kingdom than your own
Anyone doing work in Jesus’ name is worthy of celebrating. It doesn’t matter if Archie gets the credit, or Power to Change, or whatever team I align with. What matters is Jesus’ fame. And he will get his due whether I contribute to it or not.
A great test for me is how my heart reacts when I hear about another person or group getting praise for their work in God’s kingdom. If I notice jealousy or bitterness, I ask God to forgive me. And then I get proactive.
I thank God for growing another church.
I pass on stories of God’s saving power from other campuses.
I pray for that other Christian club, even for it to grow bigger than ours.
And you know what happens when I start doing those things? My heart truly experiences Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”
But Paul advocated for competition, right?
Maybe you are wondering if there any place for a competitive mindset in ministry?
Perhaps. Look at Paul’s analogy in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
Paul encourages believers to see our lives as a race. But we are competing against our own laziness and fear and the spiritual forces that would hold us back, not against our brothers and sisters who are also trying to finish the race.
Challenge yourself. Do not run aimlessly. Pursue Christ and his kingdom with single minded focus. Cheer, encourage, coach, and spur your fellow athletes on to that heavenly goal.
What about honest assessments?
It is easy to avoid one error by simply adopting another. In the name of avoiding the comparison trap, some would advise simply not caring about fruit or numbers. But it isn’t wrong to count.
Taking an honest stock of our visible ministry results can help us steward what God has entrusted to us. For example, if your movement sent five students on mission trips this year, you may want to thank God for that and step out in faith, asking him for ten to go next year. God doesn’t owe us anything, but he is a good father who loves it when we ask for his kingdom to come in greater measure.
The true test of being free from the ministry comparison trap isn’t avoiding evaluating our own work, but being able to evaluate it and still rejoice in whatever the fruit is, big or small.
A suggested prescription
Thank God for the ministry he has given you. Big or small, God is the source and deserves our gratitude.
Pray for the ministries you may be most tempted to envy or compare yourself too. Ask God to bless them beyond all they could ask or imagine. The cool thing is, now that you’re praying for them, you too can share in their rewards. (Even if no one but God notices.)
Encourage another ministry. Could you send an encouragement note, make time to help them, or offer to partner in serving together?
Enjoy the freedom that comes from finding your identity in Christ, your approval from the Father, and your kingdom submitted to his.
