I'm a very competitive person. I do not know why. I was born that way, I guess. Our family lives in an area of Indiana full of very competitive people.
Apparently one cannot be early enough to be first here. That sounds weird. Let me explain. I have driven past my son's preschool thirty minutes before dismissal. Sure enough, cars are there . . . every . . . single . . . time. I don't mean to imply that these people sit around and obsess about being first in the preschool pickup lane. On the other hand, maybe they do. It drives me freaking nuts! Maybe it is my competitive nature that causes this simple fact to bother me. Either way, we've decided as a family to just let it go. We'll get there when we do and have to wait accordingly.
While this is a somewhat humorous illustration, sometimes being overly competitive causes us to make poor life decisions. How many of us have thought nothing of our, let's say five-year-old TV, until we go to a friend's house and learn how much bigger and more awesome TV's can get. For those of you who are especially attached to your boob tube. We can say the TV is 60 months old.
Since I last spoke with anyone through this blog, I went back to school to become a nurse. It was quite an experience. I even worked for a while in wound care. However, here I am writing to you again as an at-home dad. Now, the decision to go back to school was complicated and was not all-in-all poor, but I cannot honestly say it was not motivated by a desire for more: more money, more notoriety and respect.
I hope one or both of these examples may hit home. Even if they don't I'm sure you can get the idea.
I've been reading through this great devotional you can find here. It's based on a devotional book (actually for women) called The Comparison Trap. A couple of days ago it directed me to this verse. James 3:16 says, "For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find discord and evil of every kind".
Think about decisions you have made in your life, maybe even one you are trying to make right now. Being honest with yourself, what are your true, deepest motivations for making that decision? If it is out of jealousy, then you'll likely be steering your horse into the pack. If you are being selfish, your spouse and your kids will know it. It's probably just going to come back to bite you again and again.
Now think of your household budget. I know I have a lot recently. Think about the things you have purchased or the extra schooling you went to get that maybe you aren't using. What would your household budget look like without the payments? Ours would look way better.
Maybe you aren't like me. I hope not. I hope you are simply at peace with yourself and your surroundings, that you are able to make every purchasing decision with a clear head. If that doesn't describe you. Maybe do some thinking.
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