Life is Not a Competition, it is a Performance (by Invitation)

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned from pursuing competitive ballroom dancing at a professional level is that life is not a competition, but rather a performance. I have talked about this point in my books, my podcast and I even have a snazzy video I made on my website dedicated to this idea.

For years I chased the outcome, because I am a “Type A” perfectionist that strives for excellence in everything that is important to me. I still like to do things well, and I don’t think I’ll ever switch to a “Type B” (whatever that is) but nevertheless my zeal in the past lead me to experience many predictable problems. I got easily attached to expectations and had a hard time letting them go or changing them. I had to be in total control and I also had to win at what I was doing, two attitudes that will humble you very quickly in a world where nothing is really under your control and success is subjective.

All of these attitudes led to physical, emotional and spiritual burnout after years and years of doing things a certain way.

Eventually I reached a point in my career and thinking that gave me a newfound sense of peace. “Life is not a competition, it is a performance.” I realized that all that really mattered wasn’t the outcome but rather the process. It wasn’t about a perfect outcome but rather about perfect effort. The joy was in the doing, and the achieving was just the byproduct. Whether you win or lose, the truth is that time immediately swallows that moment into the past and all that is left is the present and what you choose to do with it. Life is not found in a blue or red or yellow ribbon, but rather whether you enjoyed and did your best to dance to the music — and whether you continue to dance for that matter.

Today these attitudes are still very near and dear to my heart, but having meditated on the words of Christ and the bible as a whole, I believe that my thinking has evolved further. I still believe life is a performance, yet the critical distinguishing factor is that this performance is not about me but rather about Him, the Creator and Savior of mankind.

There are two understandings of this I want to share with you, and they are rooted in exactly what I just mentioned about God’s core attributes as Creator and Savior.

First, imagine if you will your favorite performer. This could be a musician or band, an athlete or a team, maybe even a comedian. Whoever it is, imagine this person or group of people were going to have the biggest performance in the history of their career right in your home town. What a treat, but there’s a catch: it is by invite only. The media will not be televising this event and there won’t be any replays. No videoing allowed either. It is a complete secret, hidden from the world except to those who are invited.

The bible says that the cross is foolishness to those who are dying (1 Corinthians 1:18) because the devil has blinded the eyes of mankind (2 Corinthians 4:4) through his worldly system. Although Jesus made it a point to remind us that He said nothing in secret (John 18:20), the truth is that the gospel is this reality’s best kept secret. The gospel is called the work, power and gift of God in the New Testament, and what that means is that it is the greatest performance of God’s love and character in human history.

To attend this great work however can only happen by invitation, because the invitation reveals the grace and love of the Giver of the invitation. Had not the Giver decided to give you an invitation and open your eyes to the greatest performance of all time, you would have never even known it existed. Isn’t that something to think about?

Interestingly, the apostle Paul states in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15:10) that he worked harder than all the other apostles, yet it was not him working but rather the grace of God working through him. We know from Paul’s example that prior to Christ manifesting to him and changing the course of his life he was, like the rest of us, trapped in the momentum of the world. In fact every hero and character in the bible shares the same thing in common: had God not intervened and invited them to the performance, they would have perished with the world.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God shortly after He brought them into existence in a perfect world lacking nothing. Job doubted God’s sense of fairness when everything was robbed from him. Moses told God to find someone else 5 times. Gideon tested God repeatedly. Saul doubted and failed God countless times as king, and David is famous for his adultery with Bathsheba which also involved the murder of her husband. Jeremiah told God he was too young. Peter denied God three times even after swearing he would never abandon Him, and Thomas doubted God’s power unless he saw it for himself despite having seen countless miracles firsthand.

The lesson in all of these cases is that mankind cannot make the first move toward God and also that mankind cannot maintain its relationship to God. Had God chosen to leave any of these people to their own humanity and not supernaturally guided them (and also kept them), the uncomfortable, biblical truth is that nobody in history would ever have been saved.

But God is called God of salvation so many times in the bible for a reason. He is called this title not because He simply offers salvation, but rather because He is the one who offers and completes it from beginning to end. With this in mind our metaphor of a performance and an invitation now require a deeper understanding. The gospel is the work of God, the ultimate performance, and it is one that you are supernaturally invited to through His grace. Grace is not merely a momentary show of favor, like someone letting you know about a secret party going on in downtown, but rather something so much greater. It is the supernatural power of God to change the human heart forever and conform it to His will, His perfect image and His perfect pleasure. The invitation, while still an invitation, is one that you cannot resist and which alters the course of your life towards perfection and eternity.

When we experience the grace of God we receive a new heart with new desires. There is no going back, and while we may struggle in this life we have the reassurance that the quality and certainty of this performance is not on us but rather on Him. This is the newfound and refreshing perspective I see today in my understanding that life is not a competition but rather a performance. This is the dance of life to me, the narrow road of walking (or dancing) the gospel with Jesus and swerving neither to the right nor to the left but instead keeping our eyes on our perfect Partner.

Resting and trusting in God’s perfect timing, perfect purpose for our lives and perfect will is at the heart of the Christian faith, and also completely contradictory to our modern independent lifestyles and thinking. When our eyes are opened and we realize the magnitude of reality, the only response is humility and trust. To come to terms with the truth that God exists as He has revealed Himself in the bible is in itself a supernatural work of God, and coming to terms with our utter dependence on His every word is the practice of a lifetime. Yet these precious realizations, which are by His invitation only, give us a front row seat to the greatest show in history: the revelation of the infinite, perfect, holy, beautiful, magnificent, all powerful, just, wise, gracious, merciful and loving Creator of the universe.

This is the performance that we are caught up in, the great work that we have been graciously invited to witness. I believe that in this generation we also have the immense privilege of seeing the main event of this performance, which is the soon return and revelation of Christ in His glorious form as the Superstar of the show. What a treat, yet on that day this performance won’t be a secret to the world anymore. Those who refused the invitation will realize what they missed out on and it will sadly be the worst day of their lives.

This is why we are called to share God’s invitation openly and freely with the world, knowing full well that not everyone has been invited but also that God will use our efforts for the good to reach those He has chosen to invite regardless of our technique or skills. Whether it is witnessing the miracles of nature and God’s impeccable design, or witnessing the miracle of supernatural grace being poured out onto an unbelieving heart and changing it forever — we are here to witness this great performance and that is an amazing thing because we could have been completely oblivious to all of it were not for the love of God through Christ Jesus.

So, remember that life is not a competition — it is a performance. One that is choreographed and executed perfectly by a perfect being, a being who has chosen to reveal Himself abundantly to an unbelieving world. We must examine our own invitation and see if indeed our hearts delight in the knowledge of the Lord, in the profound awareness that we would have been oblivious were it not for His grace and in the joy of an eternal dance that lies just on the horizon. As incomprehensible as all of this really is, the truth is that the best is yet to come and life is just beginning.

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