Mark 9:38-40 (NASB) says, “38John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” 39But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. 40“For he who is not against us is for us.”

John fell into a trap in which many fall into today within the church:  competitiveness! Of course, there is nothing wrong with being competitive in itself. Many love to watch sports and see their team win, but it is different when you forget or do not realize who your opponent or enemy is! In the case of John, someone else who was casting out demons in the name of Jesus was not against Jesus and the other disciples. He was for them! What this unnamed individual was doing for the kingdom of God was for the glory of the LORD, not for himself! Therefore, Jesus sets the example and makes it clear who was on His team and not stop, prohibit or fight against anyone who is laboring to see lives changes and proclaiming the true gospel. 

 

It is easy for churches to allow so much competitiveness to come and damage our ability to work together in the spirit of unity to make a difference within our communities. When we take our focus off of Jesus and focus on, “Who has the greatest preacher?”, “Who has the best worship team?”, “Which church has won more people to Christ?”, and, “Who has the most people?”, we immediately create a divisive atmosphere. The kingdom of God never grows and expands through division, but through multiplication, which only happens through unity. One of the greatest tactics the enemy uses to cause division within the church as a whole is social media. 

 

Social media can be a tool to reach people who have no plans of ever stepping through a church door, but when we focus the majority of our impact and attention on social media, we are spiraling down a dangerous slope of destruction. The reason is because we allow our identity, value and self worth come from everyone else’s opinion instead of who God says that we are. We want to be applauded for our style of services, how many attended services, or even how many people received salvation. If we do not possess the right heart, instead of praying for, encouraging and celebrating another ministry’s successes, we can become competitive with and jealous of others, as well as become insecure in what we are successfully accomplishing for God! We allow our popularity to replace our prayer lives and our compassion for evangelism. So, it is time for a change! We must recognize any thought or idea of competitiveness with other churches and ministries and immediately stop and condemn it. We cannot given any room for the devil to work! Let’s pray for other pastors and churches, celebrate their successes and seek for every opportunity we can to work together to gather from the harvest that is already ripened!