חג פסח שמח

A Spirit That Distracts and Destroys

Today, we live in a world addicted to competition. Not just in sports or games, but in identity, success, beauty, ministry, music, and even righteousness. Our social media feeds are curated competitions. Our businesses, our bodies, and our platforms become battlegrounds for proving who's better, smarter, richer, or more “anointed.”

But what does that mindset produce?

• Pride – the need to outshine others instead of walk with them.

• Selfishness – hoarding information, opportunity, and favor so no one else “catches up.”

• Jealousy – secretly resenting the gifts or success of someone we’re called to walk with.

• Depression – the crushing weight of always feeling behind or not enough.

• Division – separating from people over perceived competition instead of uniting over shared purpose.

• Performance-driven faith – turning worship, works, and wisdom into status symbols.

Our Original Culture Was Never Competitive

If we study Torah and our ancestral records, we don’t see competitiveness as a virtue of the children of Yashar’el. We see order, honor, cooperation, roles, and purpose. The Levites weren’t competing with the Judahites. The prophets weren’t trying to out-preach one another. The elders weren’t jealous of the young warriors. Each had their space, their gift, and their assignment.

But something changed.
When we began to adopt the ways of the nations, we picked up their culture of competition, vanity, and rivalry.

In 1 Maccabees 1:11–15, we see this spiritual infection take root:

“In those days there went out of Israel wicked men, who persuaded many, saying, Let us go and make a covenant with the heathen that are round about us... And they made themselves uncircumcised, and forsook the holy covenant, and joined themselves to the heathen, and were sold to do mischief.”

This alignment with Greek (Gentile) ways brought in gymnasiums, public displays, naked sports competitions, and systems of domination—things previously foreign to the humble and set-apart people of YAHUAH.

We stopped being a body, and started becoming opponents.

Games Are Not the Enemy – It’s the Lifestyle of Competition

It’s important to clarify: Games, sports, and healthy challenges can be beautiful. They build skill, strengthen bonds, and promote discipline.

But a lifestyle of constant comparison and one-upmanship? That’s destructive.

It breeds a world where:

• Artists undercut each other instead of collaborating.

• Ministries isolate to avoid “sheep-stealing.”

• Entrepreneurs hide their tools instead of mentoring.

• Communities split instead of grow together.

What If We Laid It Down?

Imagine a world where instead of competing, we inspired one another.

What if...

• The best singers trained others instead of keeping secrets?

• The most gifted builders taught apprentices instead of gatekeeping knowledge?

• Those with platforms lifted voices instead of filtering for followers?

• Ministries invited partnership instead of treating others like threats?

The result?
A thriving ecosystem of collaboration, excellence, and shalom.

Real-Life Reflections

Story: “I Used to Compare Myself to Other Artists”

Kemi, a Hebrew soul artist, shared how she almost quit music. “Every time someone posted their numbers or got featured, I felt like I wasn’t doing enough. I turned bitter, not better. Then one day, I decided to DM someone I admired and ask questions. She mentored me. Now, I do the same for others.”

User Story 2: “Competition Almost Killed My Business”
Yosef, a vegan chef, opened his kitchen after being inspired by another Hebrew chef. “Instead of learning from him, I tried to outdo him. It turned into a war. Customers felt the tension. I finally apologized and now we co-host pop-up events. Our sales doubled when we collaborated.”

User Story 3: “I Thought I Had to Outshine to Be Valuable”
Ezrah, a speaker, shared: “I thought being the loudest meant being the most impactful. But I realized that my strength wasn’t in domination—it was in precision. I now work alongside others instead of trying to overshadow. That shift brought real fruit.”

The Solution: Let Inspiration Replace Insecurity

There is a better way.
Let’s allow someone else’s success to spark curiosity, not envy.
Let their shine provoke us to grow, not compete.
Let the top-tier talent become mentors, not masters.
Let us trade insecurity for inspiration, and jealousy for joy.

Because when one of us wins righteously, we all do.

Let’s Be Builders, Not Battlers

Satan’s fall began with a desire to compete with the Most High.
Let our rise begin with a decision to co-labor with each other.

May we cast down the spirit of constant competition and return to the harmony, honor, and holiness that made our people great.
We are not rivals.
We are one body.

“From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth…”
– Ephesians 4:16