Perhaps the greatest problem we have as humans is this bane of competition and comparison between us which fuels envy, jealousy and pure pride. It threatens the strongest bond and separates families. It tears friends apart and even divides the body of Christ. Why can’t we just accept God’s unique course for our individual lives and quit looking over the fence at the other person’s yard?
It is interesting to note that It was competition and comparison that led to Lucifer’s rebellion recorded in heaven (Isaiah 14:13-15), It was also competition and comparison that led to the fall of man in the garden as engineered by the same Lucifer: (Gen 2:4-5) Message Translation
4-5 The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”
Paul in his response to criticisms about his style of ministry in 2 Corinthians 10:12 said:
The Message 2Corinthians 10:12
12 We’re not, understand, putting ourselves in a league with those who boast that they’re our superiors. We wouldn’t dare do that. But in all this comparing and grading and competing, they quite miss the point.
Amplified Version
12 Not that we [have the audacity to] venture to class or [even to] compare ourselves with some who exalt and furnish testimonials for themselves! However, when they measure themselves with themselves and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding and behave unwisely.
There is no way five friends who started out together in High School or even at College will end up the same way doing the same job, in the same city, living in the same type of house, driving the same type of cars, and all having the same lifestyle. It’s just not how life is wired.
We all have different lives and destinies in God and the earlier we realize this, the better for all of us, and the better for the church and humanity at large.
I am praying for God to help me, lest I fall into the same trap, this rat race everyone seems to be swirling in, and if I am already in it, that the Lord should help me drop out of such a fruitless and endless labour, running in circles against God’s will and purpose for my life.
What would make you not rejoice whole heartedly with a brother or sister when you get to hear of a blessing or breakthrough in their lives?
Have you ever caught yourself quickly scanning such news through your filter of comparison, trying to size yourself up with the other person in the light of their new elevation? Your reaction to the person then spins out of your assessment and how you view yourself compared to them. Such reactions are based on the flesh (sinful nature) and rooted in pride.
Most people would hardly own up to pride, but if you still harbor envy, malice or disdain and disrespect for others based on their status in life, then you may want to seek the help of the Holy Spirit in examining your heart again.
That is it, right there, some of the reasons our community will never be as powerful and blessed as God intended, why our families are falling apart, why our churches and ministries are growing weaker by the day, how we open up ourselves to the afflictions and attacks of the enemy on daily basis – competition and comparison.
I ought to love the Lord with all my heart, soul and might, then I ought to love myself appreciating and thanking God for where I am today and looking ahead to what is in store. The next task is to love the people of God and appreciate God’s goodness in their lives. I do not want what belongs to someone else – that would be covetousness, all I want is what God has for me and that would be just be sufficient for me.
I have come to understand that before I can effectively love other people the way God wants me to love them, I need to first of all love and accept myself, the way God made me, the gifts and abilities he gave to me and the unique course my life is meant to take. Diversity is one of the principles on which God founded the universe. God made everything perfectly and beautifully yet not one creature is exactly the same as the next. Even when animals are of the same species, they each have their unique signatures (DNA), plants may look alike, but they have their differences. Human beings are meant to be unique, even when they share the same womb and come into the world at the same time as twins, they still have their individuality.
In the wise words of my parents and my grand parents before them
“We do not time ourselves, working with someone else’s time-piece”
That would be foolhardy.
It is time to stop looking over the fence trying to be someone’s duplicate, it is time to look within, find out and appreciate what makes you ‘the you’ you are meant to be and indeed shine.
“Man is not man’s idea
Man is God’s idea
Man’s success is not Man’s idea of success
Man’s success is God’s Idea of Man’s success.” (Author unknown)
Shalom
Laolu Oyeyemi.
_______________
Beloved, I am excited you are reading this piece and I hope it was not a waste of your time.
I’ll like to know you read this and I’ll appreciate you dropping a note. Thank you.