How Does Jesus Handle Rivals?

Do you have rivals? Are there people in your life that seem to want what you have? Are there people in your life that you continually try to outdo or that try to outdo you? Maybe you are in school and your rival and you compete for grades, spots on the cheer squad or sports team. Maybe you compete with someone to be the best and most popular parent, have the best dressed kids or have the home everyone wants to go to. Maybe you compete by trying to have the best-looking/important/wealthiest man, the nicest clothes and the higher bank account. Maybe you see a rivalry developing in your children who have to have the most trophies, the most friends and the best and latest toy or tech device. Whatever you focus on to try to build-up in your life or character to look better than someone else creates rivals.

A rival, by definition, is a person/thing that tries to defeat or be more successful than another. In sports you want a competitive advantage over your rival. If your motives are not good, you want to be better than your rival for selfish reasons.

I am speaking of worldly rivals that we ourselves create. I am not talking about the spiritual rivals that we need the whole armor of God to defend against everyday.

If you live your life feeling like you have rivals, whether old classmates, other parents, coworkers or just other people your own age and gender, realize that the only reason they are rivals is because you have created them that way in your own mind. I would venture to say that may people you are competing with are not even competing with you, but in your mind, you have to 'one-up' them to boost your own self-esteem.

Being confident in who you are and Who's you are (I am Jesus' and Jesus is mine) breaks down any need for worldly rivals in your life. If you do not give others power by competing with them, even just in your mind, than there is no hold on you that you feel like needs to be battled against.  

If you think you have a rival ask yourself: Is it because I am competing with that person/thing to be better than they are? Does that person even know I am competing with them or have I created it all in my mind?

Jesus had rivals but it was not because he was competing against them to get the advantage. Jesus wanted everyone to be co-heirs with him. Jesus had rivals because they wanted to contend with him for followers and popularity and purity and status. The Sadducees battled Jesus over resurrection of the dead and held only the books of Moses were Scripture. Pharisees contended to be better than everyone else by their strict obedience to the Law of Moses and shunning of sinners. The Essenes completely separated themselves from 'sinners' to live a life of virtue, purity, love and sharing everything. Zealots goal was to incite people to rebel against the Roman Empire using violence at every turn even murdering fellow Jews they thought were apostate or acting in a way that was anti-Jewish.

So how did Jesus handle these rivals? He ate with them. He healed them of their infirmities. Jesus even made Simon the Zealot a disciple (Matthew 10:4). He warned them. Before some of his rivals when accusations abound, Jesus was silent. He did not defend his case any longer to those rivals because he knew his purpose and he knew he had already warned them and knew they would not change their intentions.

How do you give your rivals life and breath and control over you? Do you defend your rights even though you know they oppose you, thus giving life by your breath but wasting your voice? Jesus did not waste his voice. Can you respect your rivals in the midst of opposing views and hurts? Jesus even ate with the man he knew would betray him. Can you do that? Can you heal your rival by just letting go of your hurt thus healing and freeing you of competition? Can you let your rival out of bondage by forgiving them or do you stay in bondage because you hold hurts? You may be bound to your rival but your rival may not be bound to you because they are not in competition with you...only you are. Jesus does not hold hurts against us and we rival him for our attention, our time, where we spend our money, our demands, our 'rights' and our devotion.

Jesus can be our biggest supporter if we just stop the rivalry between him and ourselves and join him and emulate his love.

Blessings!