The 'Non Compete' Clause

Isaiah 42:8

Message No. 0592 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

In many companies, when you are offered employment, there is a clause that is included in the letter, asking you to not compete with the employer. The employer does not want a situation where after learning from them, you use the knowledge gained to compete with them. They also do not want you, after having knowledge of their customers, to stab them in the back by approaching their customers to give them cheaper or better deals in order to take them away. Any breach of this clause by an employee could result in court cases.

Well, would you be surprised to know that this clause exists in the Bible also? Of course, our God is too great than to compete with ordinary beings, whom He created, for that matter. How can the God of heaven and earth have competitors! The Bible records at least three types of competitions that God detests. Let’s look at these together.

The first type of competition is with angels. God is the creator of angels and how could any of these beings turn around and attempt to compete with Him? Lucifer, the angel who tried this was given the ultimate punishment by God. Ezekiel 28:15-18 summarizes what happened:

You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore, I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you. “You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; therefore, I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you.

Lucifer was a very beautiful angel, filled with wisdom, but the day he decided he could overthrow God was the day he was reminded that he was created. God drove him out of heaven, into everlasting damnation.

The second type of competition mentioned in the Bible is competition with man. No one learned as bitter a lesson on this than king Nebuchadnezzar. He was a pompous and arrogant king who gave no regard to anyone, not even to God, who showed him a dream, the interpretation of which Daniel was scared to deliver. In fact, Daniel began by saying “My lord, may the dream concern those who hate you, and its interpretation concern your enemies!” That’s how scary the interpretation was and should have been enough for the king to correct his ways, but he didn’t. Daniel advised him to break off his sins by being righteous and his iniquities by showing mercy to the poor (Daniel 4:27), but he would have none of those. One day he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon and his arrogance kicked in again and made him to arrogate the beauty and power of the Babylonian kingdom to himself. The Bible says while the word was still in his mouth, a voice came from heaven and pronounced judgement on him. He was driven out from among men into the bush where he behaved like an animal for seven years until he knew that “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Daniel 4:32).

The third type of competition that God detests is competition with things that people call gods. In 1 Samuel chapter 5, the Philistines seized the Ark of God from Israel and put it in the house of Dagon, their god. Overnight, Dagon fell flat, face down, before the Ark of God. The Philistines took Dagon up and put it back into its position. The second night, again, Dagon fell, not only face down, but its head and both palms of its hand were broken. When the Philistines saw this, they advised themselves and returned the Ark to Israel, to prevent further disasters heading their way.

In Isaiah 42:8, the Bible says:

I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.

And in Exodus 20 verses 3-6, the Bible says:

“You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

It is a most dangerous thing to try to compete with God. While it might end in a court case if you did it to your employers, it could end in eternal damnation of you tried it with God. What does anyone have that God has not given to him or her, or which position can we attain that God has not shown us favor and placed us into? There are people out there, who do not know God, who believe that all their achievements and wealth and power are the work of their own hands, just like Nebuchadnezzar thought. To these people I plead to retrace their steps, change their ways and cease and desist (as the legal guys say) from arrogating the power and glory of God to themselves. Those who ignored this plea in the past witnessed severe consequences. This will not be our portions in Jesus’ name. If you are yet to give your life to Christ, please do so without further delays. Children of God never compete with their Maker. No one should.

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 If you are yet to give your life to Christ, you do not have a covenant with God and His promises do not apply to you. To come under these promises, please surrender your life to Christ today, by praying this prayer:
 Lord I know that I am a sinner and I am unable to save myself. I am sorry for my sins and I pray that you please forgive me. I am aware that Your Son Jesus died for my sins and I accept Him as my Lord and savior. I surrender my life unto you from this moment. Please take control of my entire being and help me to be obedient to your Word, going forward. Thank you, Lord, for hearing me. I have prayed in Jesus’ name. Amen.
 If you prayed the foregoing prayer, you have just been born again. Please find a Bible believing church in your area and ask to see the pastor. Let him or her know that you have just given your life to Christ and s/he will guide you on next steps in your journey as a child of God. The Lord bless you!