Dismantling the Spirit of Comparison: Am I better than all of them, or are they all better than me?

 Humility and Confidence /vs/ Insecurity and Pride

Revelations 12: 10 "And I heard a loud voice say in Heaven...for the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down, the one who accuses them before God day and night.”

   Recently I found myself falling into a trap that I so often do. I started to actively partake in the spirit of comparison. And it saddens me to say that this is something of a normal thing for me.     

      But all of this picking a part of my personality, all of this comparison and sulking... it isn't good for me. And I don't think that it's what God has for me. It's a trap set by the devil. Because in truth, God isn't picking me a part piece by piece. He isn't judging me, and telling me that I should be more of this or that. He just loves me. Even in the places where I still have work to do. Yes, God is righteous and He often calls me higher, but this is the kind of criticism that isn't constructive - it's combative. 

When I walk with God, there's grace for places that I fall short. His grace forgives and forgets. 

1 Peter 4:7 "Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins..."

Lamentations 3:22-23, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to end; they are new every morning."

  I tend to look to myself to produce results, and when I'm not performing well "enough," I beat myself up about it. Jesus is the one I'm trying to please, and He doesn't treat me like that. Like I said before, He just loves me. So why am I so insecure?

    Maybe you've experienced this. Maybe there's places in our lives where we know better, but our self-doubt or comparative mindset gets the best of us. Why does this happen? And what can we do to fix it?

Well, the short answer to the first question is... it's the plot of the devil. 

   What I've learned is this; If you're not naturally prideful, the devil will try to make you insecure and doubtful of yourself. Inversely, if you're naturally confident, the devil will try to make you arrogant. Confident and humble is the way God calls us to be. But lives of sin turn us into their ugly opposites: pride and insecurity. 

    One of the reasons I fall into insecurity so often is because it is actually the makings of humility, which is a good thing. But the devil is a perverter - he takes what is good and twists it to suit his own sadistic will. He tries to turn our natural design and disposition into a device of destruction. 

    He will get you to think either "I am somehow better than all of them," or "They are all somehow better than me." He doesn't care which one you believe because both are just as destructive. The objective is to put a wedge between you and God and keep you in darkness. 

   I'm the type of person who is overly self-critical. I fall into the trap of being quick to judge and slow to forgive my mistakes and shortcomings. And the sad part is we tend to have sympathy for this kind of sin. But the truth is, sin is sin. It'd be just as damaging if I believed the lie that I'm better than other people. 

    And what's more is those ideas and attitudes of insecurity and doubt don't come from me. They come from Satan. He hates me, and he wants me eliminated, but if he can get me to hate myself, I will end up doing the work for him. That is just as damaging as if I was bullying someone else. 

  I may be the type to fall into self-doubt, but I have also accepted Jesus and this verse tells us that the accuser - Satan - has been thrown down. So why do I still act like there is any merit to what he says? I should know better. Why don't I act like it?

  Well, God doesn't make people to walk with who are naturally perfect, robotic drones who never make mistakes and always do what he says. He deliberately chooses to make individuals who are complicated, fully fleshed out, and who will have inherit struggles in their life walk. He is a Writer who creates flawed characters on purpose. And he does this because he takes joy in working out these struggles with us.

  That is why God made you. Not so you could produce and be perfect and achieve success and never shed a tear. That's what we tend to think. Those are things we tend to strive for. 

  And yes, our walk is difficult, filled with times where we made judgements and decisions that weren't very good. But God still just... likes us. He doesn't expect perfection. He just wants to spend time with you! 

   This is the God I have come to know, adore and call my friend. But I don't always call on God immediately when I'm experiencing difficulties. Why? 

Because I'm imperfect! 

    There are days where I think I can solve it on my own (spoiler alert: I can't.) There are days where I don't listen (spoiler alert: I should.) But God still likes me! He never doesn't want to be with me! Even when I come fresh off the scene having made a terrible, stupid mistake. He's still always just happy to hear from me.

    But the fact remains: We have the King of the Universe at our disposal. He is available at ANY time, He can do literally ANYTHING. Wouldn't he be the perfect person to ask about life's big questions, struggles or setbacks? You would think. 

   Now, he isn't a genie in a bottle, or a quick-fix magic solution that will allow us to never struggle ever again. But He is always available to help me. 

  So when I'm falling into the trap of comparison, why don't I just immediately call on God and say, "God, are any of these criticisms of me true?" Because... I'm imperfect! And it is in our human nature to listen to the serpent, even though we should know better. 

  God has actually changed the game and made it so that how things ended in the Garden wasn't the end of the story. And, you read the verse above, the Accuser has been thrown down. Jesus said he watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. So, why is it that long after the Garden and the Cross he is still accusing the righteous? 

  Because if you are living outside of God's plan for you, and you aren't receiving the inheritance that you've been given, the deliverance you have from what the enemy says - you will go on believing the lies the accuser tells about you. The Kingdom of Heaven is a treasure that we inherit, and if we find it and take it, we can live free of sin and what the enemy says about us. 

Matthew 13:44, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field that a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, he goes and sells all he has and buys that field."

  But we can only be free from what Satan says about us as long as we our receiving that inheritance - which is the Kingdom of Heaven, this "treasure" so to speak, which is our salvation. As long as we keep receiving this treasure, Jesus will be the one who writes the headlines of our stories. He will be the one who is speaking things over us. 

   We often talk about the "voices" in our heads like there's several. But there's really only two; The Advocate and The Accuser. I was tempted to say there is a third - you - but the truth is, you always start to sound like one or the other depending on who which one you believe. 

   We now know all about the Accuser. But what about the Advocate? 

 Abstaining From Our Nature Takes Supernatural Strength

1 John 1:2 "If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous..”

  Yes, Jesus is our advocate. He argues for us, not against us, and because of Him, we have a way to be righteous and live free of condemnation. This doesn't meant that because Jesus advocates for us that we should continue in our sin. "Don't worry, you can sin, Jesus will advocate for you! You're fine." The Bible also says not to take advantage of God's grace. 

Romans 6:1-2, "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin. How can we live in it any longer?"

  But what is does mean, is that because of what Jesus did for us on the Cross, we are released from what death says about us. If we want it, we can choose to live for God and accept the grace and identity He has for us. Of course, this only comes with a life where we abstain from sin. If we start to fall into sin again, it results in Satan writing the headlines of our life. Suddenly, we start to believe the condemning things he accuses us of because that's what we inherit when we choose sin.  

    Whoever we choose to believe - God or the devil - it informs how we think, act, and live. When we start to fall into comparison, it is always a choice. Further, it reveals the posture of our heart. So, if you find yourself believing things that sound less like advocacy and more like accusation, ask yourself - how am I living? Am I abstaining from sin or falling into it? And if the answer to that question is the latter rather than the former, ask yourself what rhythms you can implement that will change what you're believing?

God said that for His children, there is no condemnation. 

Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

    So, if you are starting to believe the opinions of the opposition, maybe it's time to take back your rightful place adoption into sonship. It's time to come Home. 

Ephesians 1:5, "He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will."

  But don't expect yourself to always know that all the time. You're still an imperfect person. There will be times where you forget this. Jesus died for all of you, not just your shiny, sparkly, clean parts, but also your messy, unkempt and unclean. Messing up doesn't make you unworthy. 

Being in continual repentance of our inevitable mistakes is what sets us a part from the world.

    It's incredibly human for you to fall, and fail, and even lose heart. Sin is what comes natural to us. The only way we can do that is if we are sustained by God's supernatural strength. And as long as we keep our eyes on Him, we will remember that He is actually better than any sin.

1 John 3:6, "The one who keeps on sinning hasn't seen or known Him."

Until next time,

Josephine <3