I like to stay busy, whether it’s work, spending time with friends, or volunteering at church. But I also like to relax, so I enjoy spending time reading, watching Netflix, or sometimes just scrolling through social media. It’s the social media scrolling that can get me in trouble though. Amidst the gorgeous sunsets and cute kittens, I often come across photos of things people have done lately. It could be climbing a mountain, cooking a fancy meal, or woodcrafting a piece of furniture, but it seems like other people are capable of getting so much more done than I am. Any scrap of contentment I had about my own life can dissipate in a matter of seconds when I play the comparison game.
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| Photo by mauro mora on Unsplash |
What I often forget is that my worth isn’t based on my productivity or achievements. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul was writing from a jail cell. In our modern way of viewing things, he was being the absolute opposite of productive--he didn’t have the option to get anything done besides what he could do from his jail cell (which is to say, not very much). Yet, in Chapter 4:13, he wrote, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” When we see this verse thrown around, it’s rarely used in a context like Paul’s. Instead, we like to claim our ability to “do all things” when we win a sports game, or get the promotion at work, or pass an exam with flying colors, or perhaps to encourage someone to persevere when they’re going through a difficult time. Rarely do we feel the need to proclaim our ability to do all things when we just had a fight with a loved one, or got fired, or said words we deeply regret.
Paul’s reason for writing those words wasn’t because he had accomplished something awesome or even to encourage people in a difficult situation--he was the one in the difficult situation, and from his jail cell he wasn’t exactly able to run marathons or graduate at the top of his class from college. Instead, Paul knew better than to get distracted by what other people were doing versus what he was very clearly not doing. He found contentment because he was following what really mattered--God. Paul shows us that our ability to “do all things” isn’t based on our circumstances. Our ability to “do all things” is based on our Creator.
When we can’t seem to achieve what we want to, it is often because we’re focusing in the wrong direction. Instead of striving after our own end goals, God only asks us to strive after one thing--him. It’s not bad to want to succeed in various aspects of our life, but any earthly success has to be secondary to simply following Jesus. If we succeed in every sense of the word but that one, we’ve actually failed. God doesn’t love us because of what we do, but because of who he is.
Comparing ourselves to others only makes everyone lose. We think less of ourselves because of what we see other people do, then try to make ourselves feel better by patting ourselves on the back for what we have done, or perhaps for certain ways we don’t behave. It’s a vicious cycle, a constant game of belittling others to make ourselves feel better. Through Paul though, we see we don’t have to be this way. God can be glorified through climbing mountains, cooking fancy meals, or woodcrafting furniture, but he can also be glorified in the way we simply recognize how all the love, worth, and value we truly need is ultimately found in him.
[Brianna DeWitt believes in Jesus, surrounding yourself with good people, and that desserts are best when they involve chocolate and peanut butter. She writes about faith, growing up, and whatever else pops into her head on her own blog, and tweets (largely about food) at @bwitt722.]
