King of the Hill

Although many of us probably haven't played the game "King of the Hill" in quite some time, the goal of that game and the mentality that drives us to play it permeates almost every area of our lives. Whether it's the ballfield, or the boardroom, or the bedroom, we all want to be the king of the hill. We all want to be the last man or woman standing. We all want to be recognized and honored as the very best. We all desire to be the greatest.

And yet, this desire can put us in some pretty bad spots and result in some pretty ugly things. This desire forces you to keep others at an arms length because they are a threat to your reign on the hill. This desire rips the joy and peace out of life because everything becomes a competition to win and battle to fight. This desire makes people sacrifice family and friends for the sake of succeeding. This desire forces people to sacrifice and give in on their standards and morals just to get to or stay on the top of the hill. This desire turns people into achievement and accomplishment junkies and they base their entire worth or the worth of others on plaques, promotions or praise.

So what do we do with this incessant need to be great? How do I, can I even, balance this desire with my Christianity? And is God pleased or angered by my need and desire to be great? Am I just succumbing to pride and arrogance or is there something good in and behind all of this?



Anyone struggle with this same desire? How does it manifest itself in your life? What do we do about it?