Comparison is Death
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 1:03PM 
One of the greatest killers of passion in the evangelistic ministry is comparing ourselves to another evangelist. Maybe we look at their schedule or their number of responses or their financial success. Whatever it is, comparing ourselves to others is a major trap. It may be encouraging to know comparison is an age old trap; listen to the words of the first leader of the Church, James the brother of Jesus:
"If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not ... deny the truth ... (these things are) earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere" (James 3:14-16, NIV). Just the fact that James is writing this helps us conclude that it was an issue for people way back then, and gives us hope that there is an age old solution from God that is relevant for us today.
1. Even the best of us struggle with comparison
Even the early Church struggled with comparison - in a time where revival loomed over the Church and some of it's most brilliant characters stood, preached and died martyr's deaths for their faith. It's always encouraging to see how much the early Church struggled as you read the epistles (letters) of the Apostles to the church bodies in various regions of the known world - helps us feel there is hope for us today.
2. Comparison never makes anyone feel good
Comparison is sin - and has a negative effect on the person who's comparing themselves. Comparison denies that God is doing an individual work in individual lives. I'm reminded of Jesus' words to his Apostle Peter towards the end of his time on earth. Peter wants to know why John doesn't have a martyrdom in his forecast. Jesus plainly declares - What I have for this other dude ... what is it to you? (John 21:19-23, Matt's Poor Paraphrase :) Basically pointing out that God has an individual plan and work for each of our lives we must learn to embrace.
Paul later shares his thoughts on this lesson: "When they ... compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding and behave unwisely. We, on the other hand, will not boast beyond our legitimate province and proper limits [of our commission which] God has allotted us as our measuring line ... For [it is] not [the man] who praises and commends himself who is approved and accepted, but [it is the person] whom the Lord accredits and commends" (2 Corinthians 10:12-18, Amplified).
3. When combatting comparison in our lives ...
So we know from James words above that comparison is death. His words, "For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice" (James 3:16) could make any of feel bad enough about ourselves! However, God doesn't show us where we are to leave us there. God reveals and convicts of sin and harmful habits in order to show us the way out. Here are a few steps we can take when we face the troublesome reality of the depth in our hearts:
A. Recognize comparison is a root of all sorts of evil - acknowledge the seriousness of the sin of comparison in our lives. This is the first step towards freedom. Repent of the comparison trap whenever you sense it rising up in your hearts. We may never be fully free from the struggle/temptation to compare, but we will never allow it to overtake us or control our thoughts and actions.
B. Remember the things God has done and be grateful - whenever we are tempted to compare ourselves to others, we should re-direct those thoughts to thankfulness. Remember the amazing things God has done in us and through us over the past few months and years. All he has taken us from. What he has done in our family. How he has directed us to this point.
C. Grow in your Kingdom mindset - My wife's youth pastor growing up, Nate Ruch, was known for saying to others who asked him if it was fun to have such a large youth ministry, "The devil's got the biggest youth ministry in town and we've got work to do." He understood who his enemy was. It was clear. In a similar manner, how can we rightly be okay with envy towards other evangelists who God is blessing? WE ARE ON THE SAME TEAM!!! We must rebuke our emotions and learn to rejoice when we hear of our brothers and sisters in Christ getting opportunities and being used of God. There is way to much to be done to waste time fighting the wrong side.
D. Bless & pray for those we envy - One of the best ways to pulverize the comparison trap is to pray for those we envy. In a similar way, we pray for those who hurt us and sin against us, and something changes in our hearts. What if every time an evangelist got jealous of another, they sent their ministry an offering? (there may be enough money to fund every ministry! : ). Seriously though, something happens when we counteract the depths of our hearts with the grace and kindness of God. Sending an offering or praying for others when we want to do the opposite can be just the medicine God prescribes.
E. Pray through ... - if we are really struggling with something, including comparison, we should keep praying until we sense victory. Serious sin calls for serious action. If we can't rid ourselves of continual envy, we should set aside a full day or as long as it takes to remind ourselves of what God's Word says and spend extra time in the Presence of God in order to catch his essence on our own lives.
4. Knowing what we know about comparison ...
You are probably not the only one who struggles with comparison. In fact, as weird as it sounds, others may be discouraging themselves by comparing themselves to you. Bummer! We should be wary of this tendancy and do our best to not stir envy in our fellow evangelists life towards us:
A. Simply be careful when and how you share statistics from your ministry and opportunities and doors God is opening for you and your ministry. My older brother Jon has an incredible youth ministry near Chicago. He has youth pastor friends who ask him frequently how many students they are running, but he doesn't want to feed the comparison trap (which doesn't benefit anyone), usually saying "I know we had at least one or two kids last week."
B. Now Paul was known for returning to Jerusalem and Antioch to share and report with local believers what God was using them to do. I am not stating that we should lie to others or always hide the great works God is doing. Sometimes when we share what God is doing in us and through us it can be an incredible encouragement to others. It's important to share what God is doing - it brings him more glory. More people get encouraged and excited about God's work in the world. However, we should be sensitive to our fellow evangelists - watching their body language and being sensitive to the fact that they will struggle more with hearing our stories than the general public. Let's do our best to quell the comparison trap in our generation and work together to see more Kingdom advancement than ever before!
Reader Comments (1)
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