Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up. . . 
I Thessalonians 5:11 ESV 

“Anything you can do, I can do better.”  

If you sang that out loud, you’re my people. If you read it silently, are you okay, and can I pray for you? (Kidding!) 

If the concept of “one-upping” was a song, “Anything You Can Do” would be it. While this classic tune brings some laughs, it touches on a very real scenario in interpersonal relationships. One-upping happens when there is an air of competitiveness between two people, and in every case, it is driven by pride or insecurity. 

In the Bible, John includes language that appears to one-up Peter at first glance. He refers to himself multiple times as “the disciple that Jesus loved,” and even wrote about running faster than Peter to Jesus’ tomb. Since I tend find the humor in most situations, I can’t help but let out a little giggle when I read John’s recollection of events. 

Now, there is no evidence that suggests John had a rift with Peter, and most Bible scholars don’t believe there was any bad blood between the two disciples. But, both men were two of Jesus’ top three besties, so who knows if there was some competition or not? John was human, after all! 

Here’s the deal, though. For us to walk confidently in our God-given identity, two things must happen: 

If you have a desire to one-up someone out of pride or insecurity, rebuke it right away. If someone speaks to you with a one-upping heart, pay no mind to it. Simply put—don’t let the spirit of one-upping rule you in any way, shape, or form!