Competitiveness, Anxiety, and Mattering
By Dr. Jeff Marx – Head of School
Competitiveness, Anxiety, and Mattering
February 8, 2024
Years ago, I was taken aback by something I read in Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. In chapter seven of book three, “The Great Sin,” Lewis refers to competition as the essence of pride. Specifically, he says, “Pride leads to every other vice; it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” Then, he adds, “Pride is essentially competitive—is competitive by its very nature…”
When I first read them, Lewis’ comments bothered me immensely because I am very competitive. Lewis forced me to think more deeply about my competitive nature, and if or how it could fit into a Christian worldview.
Recently, I read a popular book in education circles called Never Enough by Jennifer Breheny Wallace, in which she bemoans the high anxiety levels in the lives of our youth. Wallace says, “…living with toxic stress is harming a large portion of our youth, and as the adults in the room, it is our job to do something about it” (xvi).
In large part, Never Enough blames the ongoing anxiety epidemic among youth in contemporary American culture on hyper-competitiveness. Our culture and many well-meaning parents communicate success as acceptance into an elite, tier-one college. Anything less is failure.
The book fails to seriously address the impact of technology-induced faux competition on youth anxiety.
Ensuring that our youth know they matter apart from their accomplishments is the key to counteracting this competition-driven anxiety epidemic, according to Wallace. Her answer to our youth anxiety problem is spot-on, although her secular perspective completely misses the essence of human mattering. Much of her thesis is true and useful, although she doesn’t understand the source of truth. Mattering centers on finding meaning and purpose in life—elusive concepts apart from God!
In my own prayerful consideration of the relationship between human competition and pride, I’ve largely come to agree with C. S. Lewis. If we measure ourselves (or our children) based primarily on comparisons of achievements versus others, then competition becomes the essence of pride, a zero-sum game. Is there another way to compete?
What if we viewed human competition as solely an effort in self-improvement? With this perspective, we never compete to prove we are better than another person (2 Cor. 10:12). Rather, we compete to hone our own gifts, allowing us to serve God as best we can while also encouraging competitors to excel and serve God as best they can. Approaching competition this way edifies the community, reduces anxiety, and prepares youth to serve the Lord well as godly men and women! I now read Proverbs 27:17 in this light.
Human beings matter because all are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26). The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” In Christ, we matter because we are sons and daughters of the King, heirs to an eternal kingdom (Rom. 8:15-17).
Our kids matter, apart from their achievements!
Let us strive to communicate this well to them.
In Christ,
Dr. Jeff Marx, Head of School