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I got 90%, how much did you get? I got 88%. Ah! That means I’m above you, I secured more marks than you. Imagine my dear friends how the person who said ‘I got 88%’ must be feeling. When family members and neighbors will come for a chat together, this person will not feel like showing his face because he hasn’t got the highest possible marks. S/he feels that it is better to stay in the room than come outside and be the butt of the joke.

                In today’s world, media is bombarding us with a consumeristic culture; cosmetics indirectly tell us that what we have is not the best, fashionable accessories tell us that we do not look complete and so on. Bigger is better and ideas of the like enter in to human mind as they browse through T.V. channels, surf the internet or flip through the newspapers.

                We are not only human beings but also spiritual beings. We have come from God and have to return to Him. We mustn’t clutter our lives with unnecessary extras but be satisfied with bare essentials. Jesus in the Bible while speaking of human worth says, “Look at the birds of the air and lilies of the fields, they neither sow nor do they reap, yet their Heavenly Father takes care of them. Aren’t you (human) worth much more than the birds and the lilies? Why worry about tomorrow when the worries of today are sufficient enough for the day?”

                God accepts us as we are, He loves us as we are and tells us to start from where we are. I’m sure that even God would agree to this, that the best competitor you can have is yourself. You have to perform better than what you did the previous time. One needs to compete with oneself and grow better and better day by day. Positive self-competition is the best competition.