Based on my search through Ellen White's writings, here are the main quotes on the subject of "competition":
## Ellen White's Main Quotes on Competition
### **1. Competition in Education - A Warning Against Emulation**
"Thus is created strife for supremacy; and there is encouraged the system of 'cramming,' which in so many cases destroys health and unfits for usefulness. In many others, emulation leads to dishonesty; and by fostering ambition and discontent, it embitters the life and helps to fill the world with those restless, turbulent spirits that are a continual menace to society." (
Ed 226.1)
"In God's plan there is no place for selfish rivalry. Those who measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves among themselves, are not wise." (
CG 294.1)
### **2. Athletic Competition and Games - Concerns About Worldly Sports**
"I was told by my Guide: 'Look ye, and behold the idolatry of My people, to whom I have been speaking, rising up early, and presenting to them their dangers. I looked that they should bring forth fruit.' There were some who were striving for the mastery, each trying to excel the other in the swift running of their bicycles. There was a spirit of strife and contention among them as to which should be the greatest. The spirit was similar to that manifested in the baseball games on the college ground." (
8T 52.1)
"Parents and children should be striving together to bring forth fruit in accordance with their knowledge of truth, but instead of this there is seen on every hand a strife for advantage. Each seeks to excel in some line of display or indulgence. On the school grounds games are instituted that arouse the spirit of emulation. The youth are absorbed in a strife for the mastery, and to gain their ends will often imperil life itself." (
13MR 45.1)
### **3. The Christian Race - Positive Use of Competition Metaphor**
"The competitors in the ancient games, after they had submitted to self-denial and rigid discipline, were not even then sure of the victory. The prize could be awarded to but one. Some might put forth the utmost effort to obtain this crowning honor, but, as they reached forth the hand to secure it, another, an instant before them, might grasp the coveted treasure. Such is not the case in the Christian warfare. Those who comply with the conditions are not to be disappointed at the end of the race. They all may gain the prize, and win and wear the crown of immortal glory." (
LP 165.3)
"I entreat you, brethren and sisters, to labor earnestly to secure the crown of everlasting life. The reward will be worth the conflict, worth the effort. Paul compares those in the Christian warfare to the runners in a race. In the races which he uses as an illustration, only one could receive the prize. In the race in which we are running, every one may receive the reward offered,—a crown of everlasting life." (GCB April 6, 1903, par. 14)
### **4. Competition in Work and Ministry - Warning Against Rivalry**
"A spirit of jealousy and suspicion is growing to an intensity, and the Lord God of heaven is not pleased with the representation. The contention that exists among the laborers in various branches of our work is very displeasing to God. It closes the door so that the Spirit of God cannot enter. In our strife one with another, we lose our hold upon God, and upon the hearts of our brethren." (
8MR 179.4)
"The transformation in our book making has not brought with it a corresponding transformation of character... Harmonious spirit and action are not brought into the work, but instead rivalry and strife." (
15MR 116.2)
### **5. The Spiritual Battle - Internal Competition Between Good and Evil**
"In every soul two powers are struggling earnestly for the victory. Unbelief marshals its forces, led by Satan, to cut us off from the source of our strength. Faith marshals its forces, led by Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Hour by hour, in the sight of the heavenly universe the conflict goes forward. This is a hand-to-hand fight, and the great question is, Which shall obtain the mastery?" (YI January 10, 1901, par. 3)
### **Summary of Ellen White's Perspective on Competition:**
Ellen White generally viewed worldly competition negatively, seeing it as fostering selfishness, rivalry, and spiritual danger. However, she used the metaphor of athletic competition positively when describing the Christian life, emphasizing that unlike worldly races where only one can win, in the Christian race "all may gain the prize." She consistently warned against competitive spirits in education, sports, and ministry work, advocating instead for cooperation, mutual support, and focusing on personal spiritual growth rather than comparison with others.