Scripture I'm Reflecting on: Galatians 6:4
Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
Paul intended this verse to be received by Christians who were being negatively judged in their community for not following the "Jewish Law" (required circumcision, etc.). It was important for this group of Christians to stay strong and not compare themselves to those around them, many of whom had great power and wealth. The temptation was likely very high to forget Paul's teachings from Christ and conform to the Jewish leaders, as doing so may have boosted their status in comparison with the others in the community. Paul however, knew the only person we should be looking to compare our actions with was Christ himself, and by doing so we will earn his loving acceptance that will lead to far greater outcomes than money and power.
Reflection:
We live in a society where people are constantly in competition with each other in all walks of life. Think about how often we compare ourselves to others. When you really think about it, the answer to how much you do compare yourselves with others around you is probably shocking (it was to me). Have you ever seen someone on the street and say "I want to look like her, or I look better than him". Do you watch TV and wish you could "be like that celebrity." Do you go to a co-workers house and compare your material belongings against theirs? Stacking up who has the "cooler" stuff? In conversation, do you constantly find yourself tallying up points like a video game, "Well I have a better house than him, but he has a better job than me, his kid makes higher grades but my kid is a star on the baseball team." When we step back and look at it long and hard, its not hard to see how destructive this line of thinking can be....
We are taught to look to Christ in our lives, and do our best in every challenge we face: and if we do this, we should feel good about the results, whatever they may be. Will they always be positive? No. Will there be times that we work as hard as we can, only to see someone else (coworker, classmate, competitor) obtain better results? Yes. But if we truly did our best, then we should be able to walk away from what we were doing with a smile on our face and a sense of accomplishment in our hearts.
Just within the past few weeks, I can think of numerous times where I compared myself to another, and the common denominator is that every time I have done this, it has put me in a lousy mood. When we are passed up for jobs, or receive a grade we were hoping for more out of, what good does it really do to wonder "how did that person get the job over me?" or "i worked 10x harder than that person, how did they beat me". These thoughts will lead to nothing by increased negativity, anger, and sadness.
Final Thought:
God does not put any challenges in our lives that we cannot handle, in one way or another. We won't always like the results we get in life, or even ever understand what purpose they served. We should understand however, that when we fall short of our goals and expectations, instead of asking "why", we just need to accept the results and be happy with our efforts, knowing Christ is there to comfort us in these situations if we let Him.
Example from my life:
When deciding to enter law school, I put a ton of effort into studying for the entrance exam (LSAT). I had never really done any studying before, so I had very high expectations. Someone else I knew took the test the same week as me, and put minimal effort into the test. While my score turned out to be a good one (higher than the goal I had set for myself), I never really appreciated the score I got because this other person scored higher. Salt was later added to the wound when I was wait-listed for the school I wanted, and this person was accepted....
I let this disappointment of comparing myself to this person linger on for a long time. If I only had been equipped with the spiritual knowledge I have now, I would have been happy with the effort I put in and the results that it afforded me. Instead of wasting a month of my life whining about what had happened, I could have enjoyed all of the great things God was providing in my life at the time.
The aftermath of that story is that, had I obtained the score this other person had, I probably would have attended a different law school. As I look back on that possibility one year later, I thank God consistently for not letting that happening, as I really do not think I would still be in law school if I had gone to this school (as was the fate of this other person). More importantly, I would not be writing this post right now had I attended a Law School, as I certainly needed to attend the School I am at right now to truly welcome Christ into my life. I don't say that to compare my result to this other persons result, or even to say that we will always be able to look back and see such a positive result: but I do just bring this part of my life up as a great example I like to reflect on to prove that God has a plan for us all, one that we may never fully realize or understand in full, but that we should never lose trust in.
No comments:
Post a Comment