Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 9,46-50
An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest.
Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side
and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.”
Then John said in reply, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company.”
Jesus said to him, “Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”
There are two evils that strongly attack mankind: ambition and competition
Ambition causes dehumanization, fratricide, destructive criticism, and even tense situations where the one who makes a mistake loses and nobody corrects him.
On the other hand, competition destroys familiarity, destroys society, and even the Church.
There is positive competition and negative competition.
1) Positive competition is when one seeks to overcome weaknesses and grow, when one is encouraged to seek the excellence of things and to improve. This type of competition produces joy and enthusiasm knowing that everything is the result of effort. The person will not brag about what has been achieved but rather, he will be cautious and subtle.
2) Negative competition happens when positions are sought at any cost, regardless of whether you destroy others or not. And this is done not with effort, but with mischief. To this you can add lies and selfishness. The person that competes in a negative way is self-centered and believes everything is always about them. They don’t care if the boat sinks as long as he is saved.
Negative competition does not produce fraternity but rather hatred and resentment. A person competing negatively is upset if someone else is more capable or more successful, and he won’t seek excellence or perfection of things. Instead, he will fight to receive personal benefits out of everything he does.
Be cautious and humble so ambition never takes over you and never forget that the path to heaven is to be among the little ones. In order to take off, a plane must have a very good track on the ground. If you also want to have a secure takeoff, you must keep your feet well on the ground …
God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And do not forget Heaven is our Goal.
