Do you like competition…to outdo others? If you don’t know me very well, one thing I should mention here is that I am HIGHLY competitive. I mean, I refuse to let my husband win in a card game of speed, I fight till the end of a ping pong match and I may have slammed my tennis racquet down too many times to count losing an infinite amount of tennis matches against my husband.
Paul suggests a friendly game of “One Uping” each other in honor. However, I think we as Christians often forget this friendly competition and take is as a suggestion, rather than a declaration of what at true Christian looks like.
In Romans 12:10, Pauls says, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
To honor someone means to pay attention to them, celebrate their successes, acknowledge and build up their confidence and give them credit for the accomplishments in their life. Praise them when they do good, recognize their hard work, build up their reputation, notice when they are trying and let them know they are dear to you.
These are ways you can tell a Christian from a non-Christian. If you are a Christian, you are called to treat others-all others-in this way. Even if you are at odds with a person, you should treat them this way. You will be astonished at the change of your mindset if you start treating those you have disliked in this way. Begin to put into action your Christian morals by noticing the good in others, telling them you are proud of them and telling others about it too.
Are you ready to accept the challenge?
God, thank you for each and every person in my life. Forgive me for being focused on negative things in others’ lives. Help me to honor others’ lives and celebrate the people you have placed in my life. Help me to build up others’ confidence instead of tearing it down. Help me to notice only the good in their lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Follow the Dyers 
AMEN! I’m definitely a “Monica Geller” competitive type too lol. I thought this was really beauitfully written and insightful about what it means to be a Christian in life (and what it says about us when we’re sore losers (like me…))
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This is a lovely thoughtful post, and it gave me some food for thought this morning. I’m not very competitive. I could probably benefit from being more competitive, but it’s just not in my DNA. And I do love to encourage and celebrate others! It’s actually one of my favorite things to do! Maybe I am a little more Christian than I give myself credit for 🙂
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Thank you for this wonderful devotion! I’m super competitive like you, but I’ve never thought of trying to outdo someone with honor. It really does change my mindset.
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