Do you suffer from "Comparisonitis"?

One of the most debilitating diseases of the modern world is "comparisonitis"-the tendency to measure one's worth by comparing oneself to other people.  You won't find this illness listed in any of the standard medical textbooks, nor will your company's disability or health insurance or worker's compensation program reimburse you for it.  But make no mistake: comparisonitis is a scourge as widespread and destructive as any physical or emotional malady know today.

Do you suffer from it?  Do you find ways to look down on others and think highly of yourself because you enjoy greater abilities, intelligence, status, or wealth than they?  Or do you look down on yourself and envy others because you feel you are not as capable, smart, powerful, or rich as they?

Comparisonitis is an ancient disease.  Certainly Paul was aware of how deadly it could be.  That's why he offered an antidote to it-to see ourselves not as we stack up against others, nor as others evaluate us, but as God sees us.  (Romans 12:3)  Ultimately, His estimation of our worth is what matters.  And to Him we matter a lot!

God does not define us according to culturally defined externals.  Even our gender, ethnicity, family heritage, or body type are not of primary importance to Him.  No, He uses an altogether different set of criteria as the basis for how He deals with us, as several people in scripture indicate:

-  Paul found that God's grace made him who he was (1 Cor. 15:10)

-  Paul also discovered that despite his past, God had made him into a new person (2 Cor. 5:17)

-  Peter leanred that God's power gave him everything he needed to live his life and pursue godliness (2 Pet. 1:3)

-  Job realized that all he had-family, friends, p0ssessions, health-was ultimately from God (Job 1:21)

-  One of the psalmists understod that God Himself had created him, "fearfully and wonderfully".  Imagine what that did for his self-image! (Psalm 139:14)

Do you suffer from comparisonitis?  What needs to change in your self-assessment for you to see yourself as God sees you?

I, as a parent trying to set my boys on the right path, need to be disciplined to discipline.  I need to “be steady” at the “correction” of my kids.  A random correction is never going to work, just like a random workout can’t shed the pounds.   I need to continually show my children right from wrong in our daily situations.  It can be in a slap on the hand, a time out in the room, or a simple conversation explaining why certain behaviors are expected, so long as I am continuous with setting the standard.  This, I know from experience, is not always an easy task.  Sometimes, after fussing for the tenth time, it’s seems easier to just let it go.  And then I am concerned for their self-esteem and am I making them feel like they don’t do anything right, etc, etc, etc.  We can trust the Holy Spirit with those things and ask Him to guide us.  We must, however, stay steady in proving what is right and acceptable and pleasing to God.  Be disciplined to discipline.

One of the most-quoted Bible verses by Christian parents and educators is “train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). A new nationwide survey provides some statistical support for that notion, showing that adults who regularly attended church as children are much more likely than their un-churched peers to be involved in church-based and personal spiritual activities.

The study, conducted by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California, found that roughly seven out of ten Americans adults (71%) had a period of time during their childhood when they regularly attended a Christian church. Apparently, old habits die hard: a majority of those who attended church as a youngster still attend regularly today (61%), while a large majority of those who were not church-goers as children are still absent from churches today (78%).

Wow!  Did you catch that? 61% of those who went to church as a kid are still in church as adults; 78% of those who did not go as a kid never become a part of the church.  Amazing.  To think, just getting them through the church doors means so much!  That  showing some consistency in your attendance to a “gathering of Christians” can somehow imprint it’s importance into their minds.  It seems so basic!  It seems basic because it is basic.  It’s as basic as the way you fold your underwear. Whichever way you are taught to fold your underwear as a child, will most likely be the way you continue to fold them, and teach your kids to, as an adult.  Go back to the top and read that scripture again.  You can see that it really applies to spiritual and natural things.  Things like going to church, or folding underwear.

I want to clarify that bringing your kids to church is not a magical answer for their spirituality; there is so much more we need to do to set them on their spiritual path.  However, it is an easy start.  Take that simple step, put them in the car, and get them there already!