Comparing Myself to Others

It is human nature to compare ourselves to others. We compare our talents, our looks, and the worst of all, how "good" we are. This is wildly dangerous, and the effects are devastating. As Village Church's Matt Chandler puts it, "I am 6'5" tall. Compared to a man who is 5'8", I am extremely tall. But compared to an NBA player, I am not so tall, after all." Who do we compare ourselves to? If I measure how good I am next to Adolf Hitler, I feel pretty good about myself. On the other hand, what happens when I measure my "goodness" with God's?

Since we are prone to make comparisons, let's compare ourselves with God. If any thought is humbling, it is this. He is Perfection. He is Goodness. He is Holy. He is Righteous. He is much more. He IS.

“As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him." (2 Samuel 22:31)

"The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." (Psalm 145:17)

"And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!'" (Rev. 4:8)

As we look to God's glory, there is no room to compare ourselves to others. We have ALL sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). This leaves no room for saying, "At least I don't struggle with this or that, like she does." Your sin is just as wretched as your neighbors', your family members', and your friends'. Different types of sin can leave us in different circumstances, but the end result of all sin is death, until Christ intercedes.


"If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" (Ps. 130:3)

"We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

"Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins." (Ecc. 7:20)

In the midst of the ugly mess of our sin, there is good news. What God has done for us is nothing short of spectacular! Through Christ, we are made righteous. But ONLY through Him, not on our own strength, but in His.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10)

"For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." (1 John 5:4)

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24)

"Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness." (Romans 6:13)


Benefits that come from viewing ourselves in comparison to God:
1) We come to know God in all His glory
2) He becomes greater, we become less
3) Our understanding and thankfulness for His grace deepens
4) We are motivated to pursue godliness
5) We are less prone to judge & more prone to live with grace and humility to all

Invitation to the Lonely

Most people have at some point experienced loneliness, and are ashamed to talk about it. It leaves them feeling naked, exposed, vulnerable. This message is for all. It's for those who are in a relationship and those who aren't, those who have endured hardship, those who have been hurt or wounded, lost a loved one, moved to a new place, had successful or less than successful careers, made poor decisions, the sick, those who have had family issues, felt like an outsider, those who long for friendship, the married, and those who long for a lifelong companion. We have all been acquainted with loneliness in some shape or form.


Loneliness is not a result of our circumstances. It is a result of our sin, first and foremost. In our rebellion against God, the chasm grew wide between us and Him, the only one who is truly righteous. Ever since the first sin was committed in the garden of Eden, we have all ached for the one who knows us, fully understands us, and yet loves us anyway. Those who don't yet know the Lord are blinded from seeing that their relational desires are actually for the One who created them in His very image. This world offers no lasting fulfillment. We search for it, we create idols for ourselves, we set our hope in all the wrong places, and as we come up empty, we keep looking. It has been and continues to be an ongoing cycle throughout humanity.

These words are for all to hear, both Christians and non-Christians. God desperately desires our love. His love for us is wildly passionate, intimate, mysterious, and far more amazing than any other love on this earth. Why does He offer it to us? I'll never quite understand. But I do know that that it's not simply for our delight, but also for His. He takes joy in being in relationship with us. This divine love is ultimately for the glory of His name.

If there is anything you hear, hear this: You are not alone. The Lord is not far off, He is close to you.

"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." (Ps. 34:8)

Jesus was..."a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Is. 53:3)

Upon moments of loneliness in recently moving to San Francisco, I was tempted to believe it's simply that I know few people here. "As I come to know, love, and serve those in my community, it'll all change..." was a thought of mine. The Spirit convicted me that He has not only allowed me a season of loneliness, but He has purposed it to me for my good. It is a result of His grace, that I might come to know Him more. His desire is to satisfy my aching heart and demonstrate to me that I possess all I need in Christ.

If this season were to last forever, I would still be joyful. In God, there is great cause to rejoice. After all, He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Through His divine power, he has "granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence" (2 Pet. 1:3). Dear friends, let us fix on minds on the Lord. Let us rejoice and give thanks to God, the One who satisfies the deepest desires of our hearts, the one loves us beyond all measure.