When you're young in ministry, it feels like the whole world is at your fingertips, or at least that you have to grab it while you can, before it's too late. You have a vision in your heart, fire in your belly, and a calling you believe in with all your soul. You work hard, raise support, make connections, and tell yourself you are simply being faithful.
But here is a hard truth. It is possible to have a pure calling and still operate from mixed motives. Without even realizing it, you can slip into thinking you have earned the right to draw people and resources away from other ministries because you can lead them better, care for them more, or help them go further. It feels like strategy. It sounds like stewardship. But sometimes it is just competition dressed in Kingdom clothes.
If someone calls it out, you will probably deny it. Most of us do. Pride rarely announces itself at the front door. It prefers to sneak in through side windows, hiding behind phrases like "I am just doing what God called me to do" or "I am helping them find their best place." Sometimes that is true. But sometimes, if we are honest, we are just more comfortable having them in our corner than cheering them on in someone else's.
The danger is subtle. You think you are just running your race, but you have started glancing sideways. You measure your progress against someone else's, and before you know it, ministry feels like a competition to gather the most, keep the best, and prove your worth.
As I look back, I see that as a young servant, God has had to teach me this lesson more than once, and I am sure that I failed many times. I wish I had learned it quickly, but the truth is, it took time for the Lord to help me see that His work is bigger than my corner of it.
Here is the truth that will set you free. You have nothing to prove and nothing to grab. In Christ, you already have the Father's full love, full acceptance, and full provision. You are not working toward approval; you are working from it. When you begin to understand that you are God the Father's beloved, that He delights in you no matter the size of your ministry, when you see the unconditional love and the ceaseless, bottomless grace, when you know that He is already pleased with you and that you serve one and only One, then you will find a peace and grace you never knew.
Jesus modeled this perfectly. He did not weaken John the Baptist's ministry to strengthen His own. He did not pull John's disciples away to make His work look better. He honored John, affirmed his calling, and stayed focused on His mission. That is what a servant looks like. That is what security in the Father's love produces. You can bless someone else's work without fearing it will diminish yours.
If you want to guard your heart from this trap, ask yourself:
Am I trying to build my ministry by adding value to others, or by taking value from them?
Do I see people as co-laborers in God's field, or as assets for my own work?
Do I secretly compare my ministry's size, support, or opportunities to those of others?
When someone else succeeds, do I genuinely rejoice, or does it make me feel smaller?
If no one knew my name, would I still be content to serve?
Do I measure success by the size of my platform, or by the depth of my service?
Am I willing to give my best to someone who will be serving elsewhere?
These questions are not meant to shame you. They are intended to help you see clearly. The Holy Spirit does not point this out to condemn you, but to set you free.
Here is the bigger picture. The Kingdom of God is not a pie with only so many slices. It is a living, growing work. When you give instead of grab, when you bless instead of compete, the pie keeps getting bigger.
Paul said it best. "In lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves" (Philippians 2:3). That is not just a verse to memorize. It is a way of living. It means you can help someone thrive, even if it doesn't benefit you. It means you can celebrate someone else's harvest without feeling like your field is failing.
So stay teachable. Run your race. Keep your eyes on Jesus, not on the runner in the next lane. Build in a way that leaves people better than you found them, whether they stay with you or not. Because in the end, the reward is not for who gathered the most, but for who gave the most for the sake of the King.