Working at a Christian school, going to church every week, having a faith-filled husband, and hanging out with Christian friends has led me to examine faith and the growth of faith. A certain problem has been put on my heart lately. As Christians we are constantly examining our faith and looking for ways to improve our lives for Christ. Lately, I've been thinking about the way people compare themselves to one another. The subject has been popping up in several areas (devotions, Bible scripture, talks, even in my class at school), and God has been laying it on my heart during prayer.
I recently heard a great message about pride and how it often relates to comparing ourselves to others. As humans, it's natural to compare ourselves to one another, in all areas of our lives. "He has a bigger house, she's happier, I'm smarter, they're making more money, their sins are worse than mine," are just a few ways we can compare ourselves. Pride is often the leader of these thoughts, the promoter of, "I want to be the wealthiest, happiest, smartest, most liked, and best at this or that." Especially in the area of sinning, I am often temped to say, "Hey, I know someone who is doing something worse than my sin, so mines not so bad." These are not the right kinds of thoughts to have in my head, but I'm able to find them in there, especially if I go searching for them.
However, when we compare ourselves to the one true God, we realize how short we fall. Any sin, no matter how small, separates us from our God. And it is only by the grace and love of that God that He chose to close the gap that separates us from Him, by sending His son Jesus to die on the cross for us. So when I start to compare myself to others, I've started to try and think about how loving, humble, gracious, and amazing our God is, and how that should be my comparison. To be more like Him, more Christ-like in my behavior, not comparing myself to other humans. We listened to our friend preach this last Sunday about love (which he did an excellent job of!) - and how the greatest virtue is love and how we can show this love to others through the gifts God gave us. Jesus is the perfect example of love, and there can be no comparison between Him and us; but we should strive to be like Him, although we know we will never attain it. So one word, unworthy, can describe our lives here on earth, and some people despair in that knowledge, thinking they can never be good enough for God or that God does not love them. However, once you know the amazing grace of God, you are set free to follow Him and do the best you can during your short time on earth.
On a lighter note, I went on a night-dive last night and it was pretty fun. We saw a scorpion fish, and I found out after the dive that their venom can possibly kill a human, so it was a good thing I didn't explore it further or try to get close enough to take a picture. I also saw a few different kinds of fish that I haven't seen before; bright blue ones with black stripes and rainbow colored ones. We saw a huge lobster and tons of orange, blue, purple, red and yellow coral, so it was beautiful. The creepy part is only being able to see what your flashlight is shining at. I struggled a bit trying to manage my flashlight and my camera at the same time - each one is connected to your wrist via a string, and I kept getting the two twisted - so there I am, 80 feet down, with my hands tied together in almost absolute darkness. I started to panic, then realized I just needed to take the strings off my wrist and untie them, which was still a challenge with such little light. And I had to make sure I didn't shine the flashlight in my face (or anyone else's) while I was trying to untie the strings, since it temporarily blinds you, and to not let go of one of the strings, as the camera or flashlight would shoot to the surface and be lost. Needless to say it was a little bit of a struggle, but I reminded myself that as long as I could breath I would be okay - even if my hands were tied together and I was blind. I still want to see a shark, so more diving is on the list of to do things before I leave in a couple months.
I recently heard a great message about pride and how it often relates to comparing ourselves to others. As humans, it's natural to compare ourselves to one another, in all areas of our lives. "He has a bigger house, she's happier, I'm smarter, they're making more money, their sins are worse than mine," are just a few ways we can compare ourselves. Pride is often the leader of these thoughts, the promoter of, "I want to be the wealthiest, happiest, smartest, most liked, and best at this or that." Especially in the area of sinning, I am often temped to say, "Hey, I know someone who is doing something worse than my sin, so mines not so bad." These are not the right kinds of thoughts to have in my head, but I'm able to find them in there, especially if I go searching for them.
However, when we compare ourselves to the one true God, we realize how short we fall. Any sin, no matter how small, separates us from our God. And it is only by the grace and love of that God that He chose to close the gap that separates us from Him, by sending His son Jesus to die on the cross for us. So when I start to compare myself to others, I've started to try and think about how loving, humble, gracious, and amazing our God is, and how that should be my comparison. To be more like Him, more Christ-like in my behavior, not comparing myself to other humans. We listened to our friend preach this last Sunday about love (which he did an excellent job of!) - and how the greatest virtue is love and how we can show this love to others through the gifts God gave us. Jesus is the perfect example of love, and there can be no comparison between Him and us; but we should strive to be like Him, although we know we will never attain it. So one word, unworthy, can describe our lives here on earth, and some people despair in that knowledge, thinking they can never be good enough for God or that God does not love them. However, once you know the amazing grace of God, you are set free to follow Him and do the best you can during your short time on earth.
On a lighter note, I went on a night-dive last night and it was pretty fun. We saw a scorpion fish, and I found out after the dive that their venom can possibly kill a human, so it was a good thing I didn't explore it further or try to get close enough to take a picture. I also saw a few different kinds of fish that I haven't seen before; bright blue ones with black stripes and rainbow colored ones. We saw a huge lobster and tons of orange, blue, purple, red and yellow coral, so it was beautiful. The creepy part is only being able to see what your flashlight is shining at. I struggled a bit trying to manage my flashlight and my camera at the same time - each one is connected to your wrist via a string, and I kept getting the two twisted - so there I am, 80 feet down, with my hands tied together in almost absolute darkness. I started to panic, then realized I just needed to take the strings off my wrist and untie them, which was still a challenge with such little light. And I had to make sure I didn't shine the flashlight in my face (or anyone else's) while I was trying to untie the strings, since it temporarily blinds you, and to not let go of one of the strings, as the camera or flashlight would shoot to the surface and be lost. Needless to say it was a little bit of a struggle, but I reminded myself that as long as I could breath I would be okay - even if my hands were tied together and I was blind. I still want to see a shark, so more diving is on the list of to do things before I leave in a couple months.
On a funnier note, I've got to share what one of my kids said to another kid at school. It's pretty funny, something you'd hear in a movie - the kid said, "You're so ugly that if you were in a monster movie you wouldn't have to wear a mask." I had to stiffly my laughter when I heard about it. But these are the things you remember as a teacher - the funny moments that remind you that the kids are just that, kids, and most just want some one on one attention to let them know they are special and loved.
Hope you've had a couple of great weeks and that something made you smile today!
1 comment:
Hey Jen! You are so great! Your entry this week really touched me. You are definetly not the only one that struggles with comparisons. I love you to pieces!!
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