Peppers - 1915-1916: Competitive Christianity Part 1 & 2 (2 DVD Set)

Many people are extremely competitive. However, does our competitiveness contradict what the Bible teaches? Wes Peppers was involved with football in high school and part of his college career. He knows what it feels like to feel the pressure to compete and the satisfaction that winning a competition entails. But what are the sacrifices and shortcomings of competitiveness? Is winning the competition really all that it seems to be? Some people put all of their faith and all of their hopes in earthly things, competing for the job promotion, bigger house, or to reach the next step on the social status ladder. What does God have to say about this? 

Earthly things will disappoint. Though we may be tempted by tangible things, the way in which people elevate and take pride in their sports and their careers is not birthed from heaven. Peppers discusses how popular sports are patriotic and bring people together, but putting priority on sports over Christ is dangerous. Hear about how we are to seek God first, and to set our minds above. Learn about some of the troubling effects of sports on our relationships with others and how it can even hinder our relationship with Christ. 

60 minutes.

Jealousy. Competitiveness. Strife. Envy. We all experience these feelings once in a while, but where do these feelings come from? Wes Peppers continues his Competitive Christianity series by considering how competitive sports can change our attitude, which bleeds into our Christianity. Peppers spent many years becoming the best he could be in football. He was the strongest, fastest, and most popular player. He wanted things to stay that way and felt threatened any time someone else proved to be a good player like him. Once Peppers became a Christian, he realized that his competitive nature borne from sports was creeping into his spiritual walk with God. 

Should we, as God’s people, be part of competitive sports? How can competitiveness negatively change us? Too easily people allow their competitiveness to become the drive of their hearts. We strive to be the best, and we always try to improve. When we aim to overtake, to beat others, to show dominance and superiority, this competitiveness clashes with our Christian lives. Peppers explains how we shouldn’t allow our egos to grow, but instead we should nurture the Holy Spirit within us. We are not the star player on some sports team, God is the star player in our lives. We must allow Him to work in us completely, and He cannot do that if our hearts are full of competition for something else. We cannot seek to be humble like Christ if we’re always pushing to be number one. Let’s seek first the Kingdom of God! 

75 minutes.