Those people should realize that our actions when we arrive in person will be as forceful as what we say in our letters from far away. Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!
2 Corinthians 10:11-12
2 Corinthians 10:11-12
No hypocrisy, no competition. Wouldn't that be refreshing to live such a life? It all comes to those with a "renewed mind" . . . those who determine they are going to allow the Spirit of God to invade all those walls and towers, capturing the guards that have kept Him at arm's length all these years.
I can't recall the precise date when these truths began to fall into place, but I distinctly remember how I began to change deep within. My fierce tendency to compete with others started to diminish. My insecure need to win—always win—also started to fade. Less and less was I interested in comparing myself with other speakers and pastors. This growing, healthy independence freed me to be me, not a mixture of what I thought others expected me to be.
And now my heart really goes out to others when I see in them that misery-making "comparison syndrome" that held me in its grip for so many years. Not until you start thinking biblically will this independent identity begin to take shape.
It is when God is in control of the servant mind that we can realize as never before that life's greatest joy is to give His love away to those poor souls who are still stuck in the rut of comparative living.
The more you give, the more you'll get!
Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll, Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.
3 comments:
This struck a chord with me since I am so competitive. I hope that I can say that I am starting to feel the same truths that Charles metions. My prayer is that those same deep changes occur in my life.
Blessings
cas
me too - particularly at work - honestly, the comparative living is like a noose around my neck at times - "so and so got promoted, the boss likes so and so better, the boss had lunch with him and not me, etc". i need to free myself of looking at life that way.
I was a little disappointed in the last line. "The more you give the more you get" sounds a little selfish to me. It's almost like I should give so I get, and then I'm setting my self up for a companrison with others to see who's getting more!
But I do get the intended meaning.
Here's the thing, I work as a financial advisor. I know what people make and have. I can tell you point blank that the rich are not happier nor do they feel more secure with what they have.
The Lord is our Provider, and He WILL give us what we need. I've seen it first hand. It's always been and always will be about Him. May I never forget it!
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