I read this scripture today. It says in 2 Corinthians 10:13 "Our goal is to measure up to God's plan for us."
Who are you trying to measure up to? Sometimes we try to measure ourselves against others. I know I do it sometimes. Is my house as nice as theirs? Am I as successful as them? Is my church as big as theirs? And on and on it can go.
Paul tells us not to measure ourselves against others. He says a couple verses previous in 2 Corinthians 10:12 that measuring ourselves against others is foolish.
The problem is, if I measure myself against others and I think I am doing better than them, I can become prideful or, if I measure myself against others and I think they are doing better than me I can become discouraged. Either way comparing will ultimatley hurt me.
The only solution is not to compare. The only solution is to measure myself only against God's plan for me. I am the only one who can accomplish God's plan for me, and I am successful not if I feel like I measure up to others but if I am doing all that God has called me to do.
How can we keep from comparing ourselves and measure ourselves only against God's plan for us? Give me some feedback. What do you think?
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3 comments:
This is something extremely difficult for me. I find it so hard to NOT think about what others do or don't have, what that must translate to spiritually, etc. However, I can at least cautiously boast that some improvements have been made over the years in that I am trying, emphasis on trying, to constantly see others the way our Heavenly Father sees them, as well as realizing that it's absolutely impossible for me to use anyone else except my Lord as a measuring stick for my life. Since I'll always come up short, my only hope is to cast it all at His feet. My strength in Him is only effective if I acknowledge my weaknesses and nestle in the warm blanket of His love, mercy, grace, compassion, forgiveness, healing, etc.......
While some days it's much easier said than done, on the days I can effectively "put my money where my mouth is" - I won't quote any country songs - I'm much better off as well as those that are around me!
Great stuff, Padre!!
I think the secret to not comparing yourself to others is to be content with where you are. I struggle with this in the area of my finances and where I live. I have to understand that my situation is completely unique to my family. God has a plan custom fit for me and there is no room for comparison with anyone else or their accomplishments. It is going to be amazing when God moves me to a different neighborhood or increases our income, but until that happens I have to be happy with where we are now. I can't wait for "someday". See I was listening on Sunday!
I learned in one of my psych classes that there is an innate feeling in humans to have a connectedness to others and to also have mastery in our lives. These two things many times conflict as the Bible speaks about, because like Chad wrote many times we start saying, "If I was this or that, they would like me better." This is something that whether we want to admit it or not, we all struggle with. I know I do. Yet God designed us this way for a purpose. Nothing is by accident, but like the Bible speaks we have to retrain those innate feelings of connectedness and mastery from those around us to the one above us. Thanks for the post today Chad, I know this is something that I constantly struggle with, but I'm beginning to learn that struggles are like lifting weights. The heavier the weight/struggle that you work through the stronger you will be in the end.
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