Bowing Down to Comparison (pt. 2 of Idol Week)
The idol of COMPARISON is a trap that quickly entangles way too many of us. I know I have found myself smack dab in the middle of the ugly snarls of wishing something was different about my life as I look at the life of someone else. Comparison never puts us in a better place – in fact it always puts us in a losing posture. When you find yourself in the middle of comparison it either causes you to think too highly of yourself or too lowly of yourself.
Comparisons seem to happen all the time – especially in ministry. Have you ever found yourself in a conversation with another person and the whole time you’re talking you are internally comparing what you see or hear to your own life? You judge the intentions of their heart. You wonder if their life or ministry is really deep and helpful, or if its just good easy entertainment that keeps people coming back. You judge what you don’t really know to make yourself feel better about what you are doing. Could it be that your insecurity and fear of failure have become more important than the God who uniquely created you and called you to a unique purpose. Could it be that COMPARISON is your idol.
Think about if there is a person that you keep wishing you were more like or a person that you continue to judge –
Now, what might God be saying to you about the idol of comparison in your life? Maybe you need to deny the power of comparison in your life. Instead of feeding the idol, maybe you should instead bless the person that you continue to compare yourself to.
Bowing Down to Busyness (pt. 1 of Idol Week)
I think many of us would say that as we look around culture we easily recognize a society that is obsessed with all sorts of idols. The idol of money and material possessions. The idol of relationships. The idol of power and control. The idol of food, alcohol, and drugs. The idol of narcissism – wanting to do life according to your desires on your clock. I think you get the point.
Idol worship is not just an Old Testament problem. It is very much a problem of today, but I think those of us that work in full time ministry or volunteer at the church we try to escape with a free pass on this one, but I (Jeanne) believe that Idol worship is running rampant throughout our lives and throughout the church and over the next few days I am going to talk about some of the most popular idols in the church today.
The first idol is BUSYNESS – and yes I will begin by saying I am guilty of bowing down to this idol far too often.
- Have you ever had weeks where it seems like every moment is a moment of hurry? Off to the next meeting, always 5 minutes behind, trying to juggle a bunch of tasks that you know you should have said no too, disappointing people that are important to you, and consistently injecting your self with caffeine just so you have enough energy to make it through the day.
- Have you ever had those moments when you leave your cell phone or calendar at home and you feel as though you don’t know how to function.
- Do people regularly start their conversations with you by saying, “I know that you’re so busy…”
Could it be that you have made busyness more important than the actual ministry you have been called to do?
Maybe BUSYNESS has become your idol.
What if today you denied the power that BUSYNESS has taken in your life? What would it look like for you to slow down and choose to Worship the One True God that is never too BUSY for you?
