Trophies for Everyone! Why I’d Rather be a Participant than a Champ.

So, I just saw that new Kia commercial ripping on participation trophies. Take a peek.

I get it. I really do. Some people feel that giving everyone trophies makes winning one seem like less of an accomplishment. And when everyone gets a trophy for just showing up, we aren’t teaching our kids how to deal with not being the BEST and MOST IMPORTANT super-special VIP of everything in the entire universe.

But I also kinda hate it, too.

Is the message of this commercial that it’s more valuable to be a “champ” than a “participant”?

That winning is more valuable than working?

I mean, I work hard. I really do. I’ve won some cool awards, and accomplished some cool things.

But I don’t think I deserve a bigger and better trophy than anyone else. There are plenty of people who work way harder than me without receiving any encouragement and accolades. That doesn’t make me proud. That makes me profoundly sad.

Can I say something that I believe with all my heart? Celebrating something that is good about one person does not devalue what is good about someone else. There are honestly enough trophies to go around, and if your victory is only sweet if it means you beat out someone else, well, that sounds an awful lot like insecurity to me.

I also have no problem acknowledging that the things the world ascribes value to in me did not develop in a vacuum. I was blessed with a loving, supportive family, a strong, healthy mind, and plenty of opportunity. Not everyone has those things. I mean, if person A starts the race 100 yards in front of person B, and person B is pushing a wheelbarrow full of bricks, I hardly think person A deserves a medal for reaching the finish line first.

What about people with mental or physical disabilities, who cannot perform to the world’s standards? What about people who were dealt hard blows in life, who were consistently knocked down while others were urged along? What about people who are moving slow because they’re helping to bear the weight for loved ones who could not make it without their help; who gave up their opportunity to be a “champ” to help others complete the race?

And since when were Christians cool with the world getting to define what success looks like, anyway? With ascribing worth to people based on their accomplishments, instead of based on their status as beloved people who were created in the very image of God?

So no, I don’t necessarily think we should be giving out awards for mediocre effort. I think we should be spurring people on to do their best, to pursue the fullness of everything God has for them. To strive for that teleios perfection the Bible calls us to; completion and maturity, not the attainment of some particular standard.

But I certainly have no interest in being a “champ,” if it means celebrating ways some people have exceeded others. I’d rather be a participant, running alongside everyone else, cheering people along each step of the way, even when our steps are faltering and uncertain. Just keep going! You can make it! I know it’s hard, but it isn’t over until you give up!

Phooey on being a champ. Trophies for everyone, and hugs all around!

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. -Philippians 3:7-8