Competition

FRI., AUG. 21, 1987, 6:20 AM
FARM, STUDY

As the historians have observed, competition is one of the characteristics of earth life. Various forms of life compete with each other, and within any species there is almost continual competition. Since I am One with and speak for the God Who created all of this and is in charge of its operation I must be responsible for competition. Hear, o son, as I tell you how this can be.

As you would suspect, I see a value in competition… a value in that it can contribute to spiritual growth. Actually it is often the case that in competition the individual either grows or diminishes spiritual power. There’s no guarantee that positive growth will result. Again, other realms are not as competitive or not competitive at all. No realm is as competitive as the earth. And you know this before you enter, particularly if you have been here before.

Still there is much variety in earth life. There are souls who are part of still small tribes that experience little competition. Actually life itself is competition, but their culture doesn’t emphasize this, so they don’t feel it the way most middle class folk in your culture do. Most of these small groups have to compete against nature for survival and necessities of living, so they wisely cooperate as people in order to be better competitors in their surroundings. This is a basic ethic of good family life, and it extends on up to the theory of communism… when all cooperate and live life for others, giving as much as you can give and taking only what you need, the best society results.

The reason this doesn’t happen without authoritarian repression, in nations, is the spirit of competition and the fact that there is no obvious equality in physical, mental, and social earth terms. Those with ability recognize this, and it is easier to want to be rewarded for that ability than to be satisfied with what everyone gets.

After saying what I did above, do I want to imply that the spiritual is not a competitive dimension? In one sense I can say No, it is not. Every life situation is one in which spirit can grow, so there are no ultimate advantages to anyone. My offer of love, forgiveness, grace, acceptance, and guidance is open to every soul, and the spirit in each knows this. And yet there is much competition with this sense that life is ultimately spiritual and that relationship with Me is the major opportunity in earth life.

The human mind is a truly marvelous creation, but at its best it competes feverishly with spirit. It affirms the reality of what the senses identify, and it questions or denies the reality of that which is not tangible and measurable. When a person is in a culture that values this competitive mind and has achieved rewards that seem to come from the mind’s activity there is much almost “unfair” competition with spirit.

When you entered your profession you gave little thought or attention to spirit as a factor in health. Even though you had a personal spiritual dimension to your life, that was important, you did not acknowledge this in your teaching of health or in your professional life. The interesting question now is, “Has spirit become a stronger competitor, or has the ‘opposition’ diminished?” As with most questions of this sort, the answer involves some of each. In your culture there is now more openness to the acceptance of spirit as an active force in life… and as spirit is acknowledged it can be shared more openly, and hence grows in power.