"STOP JUDGING AND EVALUATING YOURSELF, for this is not your role."
So why do I (and others) think it is? The problem is that our perspective is completely skewed. First of all, we were intended to live as perfect people in a perfect world. Sin changed all that. There are consequences due to the "original sin". Secondly, I can't possibly conceive of the perfection of Jesus. And God now sees me through the "lens" of Jesus because of His sacrifice for me. So--I have no business 'judging and evaluating' myself, do I?
"Stop comparing yourself with oher people. This produces feelings of pride or inferiority; sometimes a mixture of both."
Yikes! Um "a mixture of both" = ME. It's been a hard thing for me to understand until the last year or so--pride and insecurity exist together. I always felt that people tended to struggle with one or the other. But the problem is that first statement which refers to self. We evaluate and rate ourselves according to what? What is our measuring stick? Well, naturally it falls to others since we don't have the perspective of God.
The sad thing is how much time I (and others) waste devoting our time and energy to this. I mean, sometimes it seems like this is all I do. It's consuming. Not only is it wrong, but it robs God, our families, all of our relationships of attention and devotion. It's just another form of self-centeredness. Sarah Young says it well, "Comparing is not only wrong; it is also meaningless."
I think that my goal needs to be awe, respect and reverence for me as God's new creation. Not just who He made me to be originally, but who I am now--in Christ:
I . . . clothe you in My garments of salvation. . . radiant in My robe of righteousness. (Isaiah 61:10)
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