Are You Better Or Worse Than Those Around You? by Jonathan Martin

When we think about running our race…are we talking about a competition?

photo credit: ashraful kadir via photopin cc

Is it about me trying to beat or get ahead of you and vice versa?

I think most of us know the answer in our heads…but for those of you who aren't sure…the answer is no.

However, I think that many of us live as if "running the race" is a competition.

We look around at the world and think…we'll at least I'm not that bad.

We look our preachers and teachers (maybe friends that seem "super spiritual) and feel inferior.

Jesus tells a story in Luke 18:9-14 of a tax-collector and a pharisee. The pharisee prays (loudly, I think) thanking God that he, the pharisee, is not like that sinful tax-collector over there. However, the tax-collector prays (quietly and alone) with genuine brokenness asking God to be merciful on him as a sinner.

In the original language, the text [actually] read, "God be merciful to me THE sinner." Not only did he not compare himself favorably with others as the pharisee did; he didn't compare himself at all. He was not concerned with how he measured up with respect to other people. He was concerned with how he measured up before a holy and righteous God. He knew he stood alone before God with his sin, so he pleaded for mercy. 

- Jerry Bridges 

The tax-collector started (and hopefully continued) running his race by looking to Jesus.

We look to Jesus for two reasons and to prevent two major obstacles, laziness and defeat:

• His likeness is what we are trying to obtain - I'm not trying to "be as good as" my neighbor next door, in the next pew, or on stage...I'm trying to "be as good as" Jesus!

That's why Paul says in Philippians 3 that he hasn't already obtained it. Obtained what?

Perfection!

We can become dangerously satisfied in ourselves when we look around and estimate that we are doing "better than average." We can lose the "straining," "pressing on," and the general call to push ourselves with diligence towards Christ that the Word of God compels us towards when we start thinking and comparing in this way. So we look to Jesus as our greatest challenge and His likeness as the greatest goal to obtain.

• His righteousness is already mine - To obtain Christ likeness is a daunting task! Some of us feel defeated simply by looking around us and seeing folks we admire who seem "farther ahead" than we are. How much more defeated does that make us feel when we realize that that person barely scratches the surface of what we should strive to attain!

We shouldn't feel defeated at all because when we see Jesus we should be reminded of the Gospel.

The Gospel is that His blood literally covers me. His righteousness is literally covering me. I am wrapped in the righteousness of Christ. When God sees me, He see's Christ's righteousness already.

We don't run our race in order to be made right with God…we run our race in order to obtain His best.

He has already declared us righteous. That is the whole point (and good news!) of the Gospel.

I encourage you to run YOUR race. Don't get thrown off course or weighed down by looking and comparing yourself to others. 

We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone. 

-Tozer