Body of Christ - Enough Is Enough!
Stop Competing With the People Christ Commanded You to Love
Introduction
In the short Dominion narrative that preceded this deeper teaching, I said something intentionally forceful, BODY OF CHRIST - ENOUGH!
I meant it.
There comes a point when a loving parent who has repeatedly corrected the same behavior stops speaking as though the child simply does not understand. The instruction has already been given, the standard has already been established, and the warning has already been repeated.
Eventually the parent has to say, “I have told you this before, you know better. Now stop it!”
That is the spirit of this teaching.
Body of Christ, how many times does Jesus have to tell us to love one another before we decide that He actually meant it?
How many sermons on unity do we need?
How many conferences about the Body of Christ do we need?
How many teachings about love do we need?
How many times must we read that jealousy, envy, strife, rivalry, factions, division, selfish ambition, and comparison are contrary to the character of Christ before we stop tolerating them among ourselves?
We sing together.
We worship together.
We quote scripture together.
We say, “Praise the Lord!” to one another.
Then somebody else gets the opportunity we wanted.
Somebody else's ministry begins growing.
Somebody else's church fills.
Somebody else's book gets noticed.
Somebody else's post gets shared.
Somebody else gets invited to preach.
Somebody else receives recognition.
Somebody else's gift begins making room for them.
And suddenly what we called “brother” or “sister” starts feeling like competition.
Enough!
This is the Body of Christ, not a spiritual talent show.
This is the Kingdom of God, not a popularity contest.
We are not auditioning against one another for God's attention.
We are not competing for a limited supply of His grace.
We are not fighting over a limited number of assignments.
If God gave your brother an assignment, help him fulfill it.
If God blessed your sister, celebrate her.
If somebody else is gifted differently from you, thank God that the Body has another function you do not possess.
And if watching God use somebody else makes something ugly rise inside of you, stop blaming them and ask the Holy Spirit to expose what is happening inside of you.
Now Let’s Eat Some Meat!
John 13:34–35 (AMPC) “I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another. By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves].”
Read those words again carefully.
Jesus did not say, “I offer you a suggestion.”
He did not say, “Love one another when your personalities match.”
He did not say, “Love one another as long as nobody becomes more successful than you.”
He did not say, “Love one another until somebody gets the position you wanted.”
He did not say, “Love one another unless you belong to different denominations.”
He gave a commandment.
And there is something even more convicting here.
Jesus connected the credibility of our discipleship before the world to the way we treat one another.
“By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples…”
Not merely by our preaching.
Not merely by our doctrine.
Not merely by our church attendance.
Not merely by our worship music.
Not merely by our social-media scripture posts.
Not merely by the cross hanging around our neck.
Not merely by the title before our name.
Jesus pointed toward our love for one another.
Beloved, that should wake us up.
Because we have sometimes tried to convince the world that Jesus is real while treating other members of His Body as rivals.
Do you understand how contradictory that is?
We cannot tell the world that Christ transforms people while jealousy controls us.
We cannot preach reconciliation through Christ while refusing to reconcile with one another.
We cannot proclaim the love of Jesus while secretly hoping another believer fails.
We cannot preach humility while constantly comparing platforms, ministries, churches, titles, attendance, followers, money, influence, accomplishments, gifts, and recognition.
At some point the Church must stop explaining away behavior that scripture tells us to crucify.
Body of Christ - Enough Is Enough!
The Context of This Teaching
John 13 places this command in one of the most solemn settings in the Gospel narrative.
Jesus is preparing His disciples for what is coming. The cross is approaching, Judas will betray Him, and Peter will deny Him.
The disciples are entering a season that will test everything they think they understand.
And in this setting Jesus emphasizes love.
Why?
Because these men would soon carry the Gospel into the world.
They would need one another.
Their personalities were different.
Their backgrounds were different.
Their strengths were different.
Their weaknesses were different.
Their assignments would not always look identical.
Yet they belonged to one Lord.
Jesus was not creating a collection of independent celebrities.
He was forming a people. He was forming a body. He was forming a family.
A community whose relationships would testify that something supernatural had happened among them.
And notice the standard Jesus gives, “Just as I have loved you…”
That destroys our excuses.
Jesus did not command us merely to love people according to whether they deserve it.
He made His own love the standard.
Christ loved imperfect disciples.
Christ washed feet.
Christ served.
Christ forgave.
Christ remained faithful.
Christ did not become jealous when someone else received attention.
Christ did not need to diminish another person to establish His identity.
Christ knew exactly who He was.
And perhaps that exposes one of the roots of competition in the Church, When you do not rest securely in who God called you to be, you become threatened by who God called somebody else to be.
Comparison says, “Why them?”
Faith says, “Lord, what have You called me to do?”
Jealousy watches another person's assignment.
Obedience tends to its own.
Competition asks, “How do I get ahead of them?”
Kingdom love asks, “How can I help my brother or sister become everything Christ called them to become?”
Those are entirely different hearts.
Relevance to Today’s Believers
We need this teaching desperately.
The modern Church has tools previous generations could never have imagined.
We can preach to thousands from a telephone.
We can count followers.
We can count likes.
We can count shares.
We can count views.
We can compare audiences in seconds.
And if our hearts are not guarded, those numbers can turn ministry into a scoreboard.
Now somebody else's growth feels like our decline.
Somebody else's recognition feels like our rejection.
Somebody else's open door feels like our closed door.
Stop it!
Your brother's blessing did not steal your blessing.
Your sister's calling did not cancel your calling.
Another ministry's growth does not mean God abandoned yours.
Another believer's gift does not diminish yours.
We desperately need to stop confusing visibility with value.
The believer preaching before ten thousand people and the believer quietly praying with one hurting person may both be exactly where God assigned them.
Obedience is the measure, not applause.
And this disease goes far beyond social media.
Churches compete against churches.
Pastors compare congregations.
Ministries compete for donors.
Believers compare spiritual gifts.
Musicians compete for microphones.
Preachers compete for invitations.
People compete for titles.
Denominations sometimes behave as though the Kingdom of God ends at their organizational boundaries.
Then we wonder why the world sees division.
Jesus already told us what they should see, LOVE.
Church, we have preached this long enough.
Now we have to live it.
Supporting Scriptures
1 Corinthians 3:3 (AMPC) “For you are still [unspiritual, having the nature] of the flesh [under the control of ordinary impulses]. For as long as [there are] envying and jealousy and wrangling and factions among you, are you not unspiritual and of the flesh, behaving yourselves after a human standard and like mere (unchanged) men?”
Paul does not flatter them.
He does not rename jealousy “healthy competition.”
He does not call factions “different ministry styles.”
He identifies the spiritual condition underneath the behavior.
Carnality!
That should hit us hard.
We sometimes measure spiritual maturity by biblical knowledge, vocabulary, preaching ability, years in church, titles, or spiritual gifts.
Paul points toward relationships.
You may know scripture and still behave carnally toward another believer.
You may preach powerfully and still harbor jealousy.
You may possess a title and still resent someone else's success.
You may operate publicly in giftedness while privately competing with your brother or sister.
Paul says this ought to expose something.
If jealousy and strife dominate our relationships, we should not congratulate ourselves for being mature.
Grow up, Church!
1 Corinthians 12:14-21 (AMPC) “For the body does not consist of one limb or organ but of many. If the foot should say, Because I am not the hand, I do not belong to the body, would it be therefore not [a part] of the body? If the ear should say, Because I am not the eye, I do not belong to the body, would it be therefore not [a part] of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where [would be the sense of] hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where [would be the sense of] smell? But as it is, God has placed and arranged the limbs and organs in the body, each [particular one] of them, just as He wished and saw fit and with the best adaptation. But if [the whole] were all a single organ, where would the body be? And now there are [certainly] many limbs and organs, but a single body. And the eye is not able to say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.”
Here is the cure for comparison:
Understand the Body.
The eye does not need to defeat the hand.
The hand does not need to imitate the ear.
The ear does not need to resent the foot.
They need each other.
Why are you trying to become somebody else's part of the Body?
God arranged the Body.
If God called you to be a hand, stop despising yourself because you are not an eye.
If God called somebody else to be an eye, stop resenting their visibility.
Notice what scripture says, “God has placed and arranged…”
That means the diversity of the Body is not an accident.
Different gifts.
Different functions.
Different assignments.
Different levels of visibility.
Different spheres of influence.
Same Body.
When one part competes against another, the body does not become stronger.
It becomes dysfunctional.
Philippians 2:3-4 (AMPC) “Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves]. Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not [merely] his own interests, but also each for the interests of others.”
Do nothing from factional motives.
Nothing.
That reaches straight into ministry motives.
Why did you want the position?
Why did you want the microphone?
Why did you want your name announced?
Why did you become upset when someone else was chosen?
Why did you stop supporting someone once they began succeeding?
Why can you celebrate people until they begin accomplishing something you wanted for yourself?
Those questions are uncomfortable. I don't care. Ask them anyway!
Humility is not thinking that you have no value.
Humility is being secure enough in Christ that you do not need to reduce someone else's value to establish your own.
Galatians 5:25-26 (AMPC) “If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.] Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another.”
There it is - Competition.
Scripture puts competition, provocation, envy, jealousy, and self-conceit directly before us.
We cannot claim Spirit-filled living while willingly feeding flesh-filled rivalry.
Paul essentially says, If you claim to live by the Spirit, walk like it.
Beloved, this is where the parental tone becomes necessary:
I should not have to keep telling you this!
You know jealousy is wrong.
You know envy is wrong.
You know strife is wrong.
You know intentionally provoking another believer is wrong.
You know tearing someone down because you feel threatened is wrong.
So stop asking God to bless behavior He has already told you to abandon.
James 3:14-16 (AMPC) “But if you have bitter jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry, selfish ambition) in your hearts, do not pride yourselves on it and thus be in defiance of and false to the Truth. This [superficial] wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual (animal), even devilish (demoniacal). For wherever there is jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry and selfish ambition), there will also be confusion (unrest, disharmony, rebellion) and all sorts of evil and vile practices.”
James leaves us nowhere to hide.
Jealousy is not harmless.
Selfish ambition is not harmless.
Rivalry is not harmless.
Look at the fruit:
Confusion - Unrest - Disharmony - Rebellion.
Then we wonder why churches split.
Why relationships fracture.
Why ministries cannot cooperate.
Why believers attack one another.
Why wounded people leave congregations.
Why outsiders sometimes look at Christians and see behavior that contradicts our preaching.
James tells us to inspect the root.
Sometimes the public conflict began with private jealousy.
Deal with it while it is still in your heart.
Romans 12:10 (AMPC) “Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another.”
One family. There is the picture.
Imagine parents watching their children constantly trying to destroy one another because one received something the other did not.
Eventually those parents would say, “Enough! That is your brother!” or “Enough! That is your sister!”
Perhaps Heaven is saying the same thing to us, that believer you keep competing with is family.
Honor them.
Pray for them.
Celebrate them.
Encourage them.
And when God blesses them, learn to say, “Father, thank You for what You are doing in my brother's life.”
“Father, thank You for what You are doing through my sister.”
If those words are difficult to say sincerely, do not ignore that difficulty.
Take it before God.
Reflection & Spiritual Insight
Now let’s get very personal.
Not “Who do I know who needs to read this?”
No! You. Me.
Every one of us.
Ask yourself these questions;
Do I genuinely celebrate other believers when God blesses them?
Can I support a ministry that is not mine?
Can I rejoice when somebody receives something I prayed for and have not yet received?
Can I compliment another believer without immediately mentioning myself?
Can I sit under somebody else's gift without feeling threatened?
Can I pray sincerely for God to increase another person's influence?
Can I celebrate somebody whose ministry looks different from mine?
Do I secretly feel better when someone I envy struggles?
Do I compare followers, titles, money, opportunities, recognition, gifts, churches, ministries, education, preaching ability, or influence?
And here is what could be a painful one, Have I disguised jealousy as discernment?
Sometimes we suddenly become extraordinarily critical of people immediately after God begins elevating them.
Everything they do bothers us.
Everything they say becomes suspicious.
We scrutinize them in ways we never did before.
Could there be legitimate concerns? Certainly.
And sometimes the problem is not discernment.
Sometimes we are jealous.
Have enough spiritual maturity to ask the Holy Spirit which one it is.
Because jealousy loves disguises.
It can dress itself like criticism.
It can dress itself like concern.
It can dress itself like theological superiority.
It can dress itself like “I just don't understand why everybody likes them.”
Stop dressing it up.
Call it what scripture calls it and crucify it.
Application to Modern Faith
Stop Measuring Your Assignment Against Someone Else's Assignment
God did not call you to become a better version of another believer.
He called you to obey your assignment and become a Christ filled version of YOU!
Comparison will make you abandon what God gave you while chasing what He gave somebody else.
Celebrate Publicly and Privately
Do not merely congratulate people where everyone can see you.
Learn to celebrate them in your heart.
Pray for their success when nobody knows you prayed.
Refuse Gossip Disguised as Concern
If the conversation exists primarily to diminish another believer, do not baptize it with religious language.
Do not help tear apart someone you are commanded to love.
Stop Building Personal Kingdoms
The Church belongs to Christ.
The ministry belongs to Christ.
The gifts came from Christ.
The people belong to Christ.
The glory belongs to Christ.
You are a steward, not the owner.
Learn to Say, “We Need You.”
The Body needs different gifts.
We need teachers.
We need evangelists.
We need pastors.
We need encouragers.
We need servants.
We need intercessors.
We need administrators.
We need people whose names may never appear on a platform.
Stop treating visibility as though it determines importance.
Correct Without Destroying
Love does not mean ignoring sin, falsehood, or destructive behavior.
There are times when believers must correct one another.
Yet biblical correction seeks restoration, not humiliation.
If your correction secretly satisfies your desire to see another believer embarrassed, check your heart.
Remember Who Is Watching
Jesus said the world would recognize His disciples through their love for one another.
That means our treatment of one another is part of our witness.
Our relationships preach too.
Five Checkpoints for Every Believer
Can I Celebrate Another Believer Without Comparing Myself to Them?
Romans 12:15 (AMPC) “Rejoice with those who rejoice [sharing others’ joy], and weep with those who weep [sharing others’ grief].”
If another believer's blessing produces resentment instead of rejoicing, do not ignore that reaction.
Take it to God.
Their celebration is not your funeral.
Their breakthrough is not your rejection.
Can you rejoice simply because your brother or sister has something to rejoice about? Am I Serving Christ or Trying to Outshine His People?
Galatians 5:26 (AMPC) “Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another.”
Ask yourself why you need to be first.
Why must you be noticed?
Why must your contribution be acknowledged?
Why does another person's recognition bother you?
If nobody applauded you, would you still obey God? Do I Understand That Another Believer's Gift Is Something the Body Needs?
1 Corinthians 12:18 (AMPC) “But as it is, God has placed and arranged the limbs and organs in the body, each [particular one] of them, just as He wished and saw fit and with the best adaptation.”
God placed them.
Think about that before you resent them.
You may be fighting against someone whom God deliberately positioned in the Body.
You do not have to possess their gift.
You need to honor God's purpose for it. Is Jealousy Hiding Somewhere in My Heart?
James 3:16 (AMPC) “For wherever there is jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry and selfish ambition), there will also be confusion (unrest, disharmony, rebellion) and all sorts of evil and vile practices.”
Do not ask only whether you have acted jealous.
Ask whether jealousy has taken residence inside.
Before jealousy becomes gossip, division, sabotage, criticism, or hostility, it begins in the heart.
Deal with the seed before somebody else has to suffer from the fruit. Does the Way I Treat Other Christians Prove or Contradict My Claim to Follow Christ?
John 13:35 (AMPC) “By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves].”
This is the checkpoint that brings us back to Jesus.
Not your title.
Not your denomination.
Not your theological vocabulary.
Not your platform.
Not how loudly you worship.
Not how many scriptures you quote.
Jesus pointed toward love.
So the question becomes unavoidable, What does your treatment of other believers tell people about the Christ you claim to follow?
Summary
Body of Christ, hear this with the love with which it is intended:
Enough Is Enough!
We have been taught better.
We have been commanded better.
We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to empower us to live better.
So why are we still entertaining the same jealousy, comparison, competition, rivalry, factions, cliques, strife, and selfish ambition that scripture repeatedly condemns?
Enough Is Enough!
Stop watching another person's lane so closely that you neglect the assignment God put in yours.
Stop treating another believer's blessing as an announcement of your failure.
Stop resenting people because God gave them something different.
Stop measuring ministries against ministries.
Stop measuring churches against churches.
Stop measuring callings against callings.
Stop measuring gifts against gifts.
Stop measuring platforms against platforms.
Stop tearing down the people Christ died to redeem.
That is your brother, that is your sister.
And even when correction is necessary, correct them as someone Christ loves, not as an enemy you are eager to destroy.
We are one Body.
Christ is the Head.
There is no competition between members of a healthy body.
The hand does not defeat the foot.
The eye does not humiliate the ear.
One member functioning properly helps the entire body.
So when your brother grows stronger, the Body grows stronger.
When your sister fulfills her assignment, the Body benefits.
When another ministry reaches people you could never reach, the Kingdom advances.
Why would you be jealous of that?
We are supposed to be on the same side!
And Beloved, if we cannot learn to love one another, how can we convincingly preach the love of Christ to a watching world?
Jesus already gave us the standard.
Jesus already gave us the command.
Jesus already told us what should identify His disciples.
So perhaps we do not need another explanation.
Perhaps we need obedience.
Body of Christ - Enough Is Enough!
Stop Competing With the People Christ Commanded You to Love.
Question For Today
If Jesus said the world would know that you belong to Him by the way you love His people, does the way you celebrate, speak about, support, correct, and respond to the success of other believers provide evidence that you are His disciple, or does your jealousy, competition, comparison, and strife contradict the very Christ you claim to represent?
If You Have Ears to Hear, Then Hear It!
I pray for you each and every day.
All God's Best!
Karl McKinnie
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