Good morning…
As she and I talked after yesterday’s class, God’s Spirit revealed wisdom: “Comparison kills. Conversation brings life.”
When we catch ourselves comparing, beating ourselves up for not being “good enough” or seeing ourselves as “superior somehow” to someone else, might our brain tell our heart to raise a white flag of surrender? In times of combat, the white flag is recognized internationally as a symbol of surrender, of truce, of a request for negotiation. Feeling “less than” or “better than” signals an opportune time to start our negotiations. “LORD, what is Your perspective on this matter?” “God, how do You view my heart and the heart of the other person?” “Heavenly Father, please show me the ways You are growing me through this situation.” If any additional conversation is intended to flow out of our private, personal prayer, God will let us know if and when, how and with whom we are to pass along His perspective.
We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:4-6, NLT).
Comparison. Remaining captive to the laws of human nature. Clinging to the old covenant of who we “should” be and how we “should” act. All of these actions kill. All of these end in some sort of death. Conversing with God. Trusting confidently in Christ’s companionship. Acknowledging “I am not qualified to do anything on my own.” Through these humble acts of surrender, the Spirit enables us to minister. In and through us, God’s Spirit gives life.
When our heart raises the white flag of surrender to God’s will and God’s way, we stop comparing and we start conversing.
…Sue…
