Comparison; the Purpose Killer

Don’t compare yourself to others. Comparison destroys the seeds God desires you to cultivate. It compromises your fruit-bearing and can make you less effective, or worse...ineffective.

Each seed God sews in us is vital to the Body of Christ functioning wholly. Think of yourself as a gardener...imagine you're tending to your most valuable fruit-bearing tree (your purpose) - in an orchard of a thousand other trees (other thoughts, ideas, responsibilities or people's opinion of what you should do). Do you think it would serve your fruit-bearing tree to take care of the other thousand trees or will it wither and die while you tend to all the others? This doesn't mean you can't have more than one talent or fruit-bearing gift, but a reminder to not sell short the primary gift in which God has ordained an abundance of fruit to come from.

One of the easiest ways to become unfruitful is through comparison. I know we all do it - it's so hard not to now that we have social media...ah, so many forms of media coming at us all day every day that show us how unattractive, financially broke, and unsuccessful we are. Catch my drift? Comparison causes us to not only look away from what our minds should be centered on, but also causes us to have feelings that are not rooted in love towards others and their situations. Don't ask me how I know. This has been a beast and still is for me to work through.

Now for the messy part...for the ones who are going through or have gone through so much and are trying to be faithful in purpose, but find comparison stopping them at every turn:

I see you - doing all you can to nurture seeds while walking through a season of suffering (maybe a lifetime of suffering). I mean that the very seed(s) God has given you to cultivate, have been entrusted to you under near impossible circumstances. Circumstances that could easily shut down any growth or even worse, kill the seed. Sometimes the only way to cultivate the seed is to tend to it as you suffer:

Loss

Financial strain

Grief

Betrayal

Poor Health

A Sick Spouse

A Sick Child

An Ailing Parent or Loved One

Life. Is hard.

And for some, life is MUCH harder. We all need healthy perspective. We all need to see things in context.

Let me ask you this? Would you rather cultivate with ease and everything go your way? All the help and finance you need; perfect health and no strained relationships?

If this is the part where you can raise your hand and say, "yes, that's me!" then I would be doing that right here and now. But if I'm being really honest, wouldn't I rather have a story that inspires those I connect with - because my story was "hard fought?" Yes, it's true. It's better to know what it is to press through the hardship and gain the breakthrough, than easily attain what you so easily could go after. When was the last time you were inspired by someone who had the means to get where they wanted to go - and got there? Probably never.

There's something about suffering that breaks down the walls of arrogance and self-reliance and causes the required grace of God to illuminate a path, that without His guidance would be impossible to navigate. He allows us to suffer so that particular seeds can grow exponentially - and become fruit-bearing trees like no other. All that we lose through suffering becomes trivial as our gain far outweighs our loss; as the Kingdom's gain far outweighs our loss.

One of my favorite speakers is Sheila Walsh. Through "stewarding suffering" as she calls it, she has shared so much with the world and it has made her ministry so effective for Christ. Do you know why? She understands suffering, hardship, poverty, disappointment, and depression to name a few...and when I first heard her speak, my heart was immediately in tune to what God had for me that was hers to share. How neat. How amazing. And how not surprising that God uses our pain for purpose.

As I wrap this up, I want to go back to "not comparing yourself to others." Don't compare your finances, your looks, your talents, your family...there's no fruit in it...it's truly a killer. It will destroy your momentum and cause you to stagnate. Your life will suffer because you choose to compare. Think of it this way, comparison is fuel for sinful attitudes, thoughts, and feelings (especially jealousy, envy, and strife).

2 Corinthians 10:12 says this:

12 “Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.”

I recommend reading the entire chapter for a fuller view of what’s being stated in the scripture.

Just remember this:

Comparison will keep you bound instead of soaring. Comparison will kill the very purpose God has ordained for you. It wrecks you from the inside out. Don’t let the enemy have this - be strategic and set your eyes on Christ, not to the right or left. Look up! Let me know if I can help you in any way. I truly love you all and am so thankful you are here - growing and moving forward in Christ!

My Prayer for You Today

Heavenly Father, thank You for this moment. Thank You for insight and encouragement. Bring those reading this right now to a place where they commit those seeds to You and cultivate them despite their hardship, despite their reasoning. Remove mental roadblocks. Grow in them a purpose far greater than their greatest hope, accelerate their learning, and help them choose wisely with limited hours in the day. Give them breakthrough in areas they desperately need it - and may Your will be done in their lives in order for the gospel to be propelled into this generation. Let us not forget the work of this hour. Let our eyes and thoughts be fixed on You, that You may guard our perspective at all times. Let us be fruitful in Jesus’ name, amen.