Competition, Age, and The Kingdom
The following link describes an extreme example.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/rick_reilly/08/07/reilly0814/index.html
I've had this discussion with several people in several walks of life and have gotten a wide selection of answers...from...
"They're 9 & 10...you do not utilize strategy!"
...to...
"They have a scoreboard right?"
From my perspective...very few people today are dealing with disappointment as children, so many people are ilequipped to deal with failure as adults. Unpleasant results are part of life...so...here's my issue(s)...
1. At what age should kids be permitted failure? (I think the answer is you should be dealing with failure from the beginning. My 3 year old doesn't get presents on the 5 year olds' birthday...she has to learn to deal with it, right?)
2. At what age should we introduce the kind of competition (involving strategy) to kids? (I tend to lean toward my friend that says..."if there's a scoreboard..."but then that might be my ego wanting to be smarter than the other coach...hmm.)
3. Is there a place for competition in God's economy? This is the most difficult question for me. Really what would Jesus or Paul or Barnabus or Timothy say about not only this example of competition, but sales quotas, and professional sports, and 401Ks, and starter homes, and retirement homes, and the stock market? Would Peter's answer be different? Each example I mentioned has some competitiveness built into it...right...if we're honest about it.
I'd like your thoughts...please.
posted by Hollywood at 3:58 AM
3 Comments:
1. At one age should kids be permitted failure? From the get-go. Even if it was Chutes N Ladders, Hi-O Cherry-O or Candyland, we played by the rules and if I won, so be it. If they won, good for them. Good lessons to learn from the moment they're able to understand winning and losing. Although I'm not sure I'd use "failure" as the word, but I know what you meant. I'd have used "losing."
2. Same for when we introduce strategy to kids. But, by the same token, in addition to keeping score, sometimes you just gotta shoot the hoops or throw the passes or catch the ball because it's fun to do it without keeping score. So, the age is early, but you gotta have a balance between the fun of it and the competition. They need to understand that some games (like tournament finals) have more riding on them than others (like "pool play" games just for seeding the tournament). Sometimes you play for fun or to get better or to try a new pitcher or whatever, other times you play to measure how good you are against the competition. They need a balance.
3. I think there's an understanding of competition in God's economy. Paul talks about boxers and runners, so he was aware of competition and never denounced it but rather used it as a means of comparision. I'd suggest that God can be glorified by competitors set on doing whatever the competition is for His glory.
9:07 PM
Thanks for your input...do you pitch to the slugger, or walk him to get to the drastically weaker player?
3:58 AM
I pitch to the slugger. If we're really champions, we can get one out when we need to.
5:29 AM
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