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Verse:But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.” —Mark 10:42–44
On Friday, September 29, 1916, newspapers across the United States announced that John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) had just become the world’s first billionaire.70 By the time he was twelve, Rockefeller had saved more than fifty dollars “from working for neighbors and raising some turkeys for his mother.” But, being a visionary, he dreamed of an oil company with distribution throughout the country.
So, in 1870, his thriving Standard Oil Company was established in Cleveland, Ohio. It became the largest oil refinery in the world.
To prevent competition, Rockefeller bought several other companies. His success was due to his personal skills combined with aggressive business and marketing strategies. Unlike the medieval monastic ethic that considered the vow of poverty to be the ultimate goal, Rockefeller saw his wealth as an opportunity for philanthropy.
Today, the Rockefeller Foundation continues to benefit a variety of humanitarian projects. However, Rockefeller built his powerful oil empire by means of what has been called “social Darwinism.” It means that the “fittest” people naturally rise to the top of society. For Rockefeller, “the growth of a large business is merely the survival of the fittest... This is not an evil tendency in business. It is merely the working-out of the law of nature and a law of God.”72 But for him to win, many others had to lose! This competition—thriving at the expense of others—often appears in the world in which we live. It’s beneficial to ask the question, How does God’s kingdom relate to the culture of competition? As citizens of that kingdom, we need to promote internal cooperation and external competition. Paul’s analogy of the human body (1 Corinthians 12:12–31) suggests that we should cooperate with one another in building up God’s kingdom.
Paul’s analogy of the Christian soldier (Ephesians 6:10–20) encourages us to compete in God’s strength against the hosts of darkness and the sinful world. Our goal is to make all human beings winners in Christ.