I am a very competitive person.  To be entirely honest, I absolutely hate losing – at anything – to anyone.  I have always thought this to be a worthy personality trait.  After all, competition inspires people to achieve greatness, right?

Recently at Mass, the priest said that we should avoid comparing ourselves with others.  He said that doing so could be odious.  I confess that I had to Google the word odious.  It means hateful, horrible, loathsome, detestable, etc. – a pretty harsh word.  This reflection has stuck with me ever since.

Competition is really all about comparing ourselves with others.  Does this mean that my competitive spirit is odious?  I have come to the not-so-firm conclusion that maybe it is.

Just as with everything else, I think it is important for me to question my motives.  If I am competing with others for the sake of beating them so that I can wallow in the splendor of my own accomplishments, then I think this pride is ugly, hurtful, and potentially odious.

Comparison with others for the sake of admiring and striving toward their virtue has obvious merit.  But comparison that seeks to identify and be critical of another can be very contemptible.  This type of comparison is more of a judgment.  We are sizing another up to see how closely they resemble our ideals.  This variety of arrogant judgment doesn’t respect the differences between us.

We are all given certain unique gifts from God.  He calls us all to serve Him and glorify Him in different ways.  One calling is no greater than another.  Competition and comparison for the sake of realizing one’s potential and growing in the spiritual life brings glory to God, and is certainly a worthy personality trait.  Competition for the sake of winning and glorifying ourselves is ugly, sometimes hurtful, and even odious.