God Does Not Love Your Neighbors More Than You

All we can see is a drop in the vast ocean that is His creation.

 

    We all know comparison is the thief of joy. As christians, its so easy to look over at the next person to see how amazing their quiet times are or how many books they've read this month. I know when I was in ministry, I felt especially inadequate when I saw my friends hanging out with high schoolers every other day or when they had fifty kids show up to events when my club was struggling to get even one person to come to bible study. Its just so easy to look at your neighbor and think "wow, they must really have it all together."

   

    We should really know better by now.

    Everyone struggles with sin on a daily basis, we wouldn't be humans if we didn't. One of my favorite illustrations my leader once shared with me was the oreo effect. And yes, it was just as delicious as it sounds. Basically what she did was set up towers of stacked oreos in rows on the table. Each tower had a different number of oreos; some only had one, some had seven or eight stacked high. She then asked us which tower had the most and least amount of oreos (as a super intelligent high schooler, I was able to accurately say the stack of one was the smallest. I know, I should have gone to Harvard). She then asked us to change our perspectives. Instead of looking at the towers head on, she asked us to look at them from above. 

    Now, I am not that tall, only about 5'4'' but I could tell where she was trying to go with it even though I had to stand on a chair to get the full effect. She explained that from down here on earth, its easy to see how tall or small someone's tower of sin is and compare it to your own (it physically pains me to compare the wonderful deliciousness that is oreos to sin but its okay, its only a metaphor). 

    When God looks down on us, all He can see is that there is sin. He doesn't see the our sin in degrees, He doesn't keep a tally of how often we open our bible or how many times we cursed at the driver in front of us on the highway *cough, cough.* Doing a good deed doesn't negate the bad. And God doesn't love us more because of our works.

    I'll say it again, GOD DOESN'T LOVE US MORE BECAUSE OF OUR WORKS.

    He rejoices in our lives and deserves every bit of our praise and worship but His love and grace were given freely to us through no doing of our own. He doesn't love your neighbor more because they are in seven bible studies and earning perfect grades. He doesn't love you less if none of your high schoolers respond to your eleventh text message asking if anyone wants to come over and use your awesome pool with really cool floaties (guys, seriously its an orca AND a clown fish).

    My relationship with the Lord is far from perfect and it has NOTHING to do with anyone else but Him and I. I went through a really difficult couple of months where I read the bible every single day and still felt so isolated from God. I would look over at my roommates and my friends who seemed to be learning so much and seeing the fruits of their labor reflected in their ministry and I got angry. I remember praying to God and saying "Listen, I'm doing everything they're doing, I'm trying so hard to hear from you and still you're ignoring me. What the heck, man?" 

    I may have slipped a little on the whole reverence thing but I couldn't help it. I kept looking over at other people's progress and pointing my finger at God and at myself instead of rejoicing in the small victories God was giving me. It took taking a giant step back and looking at my situation from an entirely different and more godly perspective for me to see that God was working in my life and He hadn't abandoned me at all. He had been leading me into a place where I was able to work on some things that had fallen by the wayside while I was paying attention to everyone else around me.

   Basically, what I'm saying is that not only does comparison hinder our view of ourselves, but it also really hurts our view of God and how He works in us. Getting frustrated with our lives is normal because we live in a fallen world and we are fallen people who can only see a drop in the wide ocean that is God's creation. I just implore you to take a step back, take a deep breath and remember that you are doing just fine and God loves you no matter what. I know you hear that all the time but the best part is that its always true.