(Here is my disclaimer: this blog is to be taken with 1 cup of humor each morning. In the event of irritation consult a specialist.)

One of the most difficult and rewarding things I have ever done is run a marathon. 26.2 miles of pure torture. One of the most difficult and rewarding things my wife has ever done is give birth to our children. How can I compete with that? No matter what I do, she will always win.

Me: “I ran 26.2 miles.”
Her: “I brougt a human into the world.”
Me: “I climbed Mt. Everest.”
Her: “I nurtured a human soul within me.”
Me: “I walked on the moon.”
Her: “I had human eyes develop in my womb that would one day open and look at the moon with a sense of awe and wonder.”

I always lose. I would point out that I did my marathon by myself and she totally had help from a medical professional, but then I would be sleeping on the couch. I would also point out that I ran for over four hours and she was only in “hard labor” for three hours, but then I would be sleeping in the doghouse. I would also point out… You know what, I better stop before I’m homeless.

That’s probably why men don’t have babies. We turn everything into a competition. That could be very unsafe for the kids. Can you imagine? I’ll leave that one right there.

Obviously I’m not really in a competition with my wife. Having a child HAS to be the most amazing thing we have ever experienced together, and we have had the joy of experiencing it twice.

But in life , we often do turn things that are meant to be joys and blessings into dumb competitions. That’s how gossip and selfishness and hate get started.

When our hearts become so impassioned with outdoing someone else, we don’t enjoy the very thing we are called to.

What about you? Have you ever let pride (the bad kind) overshadow the wonderfulness of life? Have you fallen victim to competition?