Breaking Free from the Comparison Trap

1. "Comparison is one of the oldest struggles of humanity. Comparison is the enemy's oldest weapon of mass distraction. It is a weapon that he uses across genders, across generations, across geographies. It's a weapon that he uses to steal our joy, kill our contentment and destroy our purpose. People like to say oh social media has this generation comparing so much but that's not the case we've been comparing ourselves to the Joneses for a long time all social media did was give us more Joneses to compare ourselves to." [02:54] (38 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "Comparison leads to trivial criticisms. This issue about his wife was petty and baseless if they had a real issue with it Moses was their brother they would have said something before it's not like Moses just married this woman today they did not just get her 23 and me DNA results in their inbox and discover that she's 50% Ethiopian and 50% Hebrew what no they didn't just discover that she was Ethiopian they've been known this their real issue was their lust for power their real issue was that they started comparing themselves to Moses because they're realizing Moses has a unique relationship with God." [05:59] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "When we compare ourselves, that's what happens. We either get filled up with pride because we think we're better than somebody, or we get filled up with envy because we think somebody is better than us. We get filled up with envy because we think somebody is better than us. And we see them having something that we want, and it triggers this thorn in our side, this lie that we're not enough, that we're not good enough. Pride fills us up and it takes center stage and it says, look at me. I'm important. I matter. It puts the spotlight on yourself to show, look at what I can do. I'm intelligent. I'm able. I'm capable. I'm smart. I'm fast. I'm the best." [11:27] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "Comparison leads to trivial criticism, and it also creates a crack in our relationships. See, leprosy was a skin disease, a highly contagious skin disease and an incurable one. So when a person had leprosy, they were set aside from the community. So the one thing that Miriam thought would happen, she thought comparing herself to Moses and trying to point out his flaws would elevate her, put her in the limelight, was the thing that got her set aside for seven days." [13:05] (33 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "Focus on your calling. You're all the way over here, just looking in their grass. Oh, it's so green. Did they use Miracle-Gro? Is this an organic fertilizer? And all the while, God is calling you. He's calling you to focus. He's calling you to look in your own grass and see that he's provided for you the financial resources that you need, the light that you need to shine, and the water for your own grass. Answer the call. And stop comparing. Stay in your lane. God has a purpose and a plan for you, and you'll never do it if you're busy trying to look all up in someone else's grass." [19:32] (44 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6. "Stop thirsting and start watering. Start watering your own grass. Stop thirsting over what everybody else has to do. Comparison has us tripping. Literally tripping. Literally tripping. Literally tripping. It's not just a trap. It's a dangerous cycle of just pride and envy. Everything is just filtered through that. Trying to get the attention. Trying to earn love and attention that God has already given to you freely. That he is already lavishing on you. Trying to prove that you're worth and that you're valuable. And if he didn't think you were valuable, he wouldn't have made you. He made you with value and purpose. But you'll miss it if you're busy comparing." [20:10] (50 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7. "Value your calling. You are called. The calling is not just for pastors, deacons, or ministers. It's for all of us. Every single person in here before the foundation of the world, God chose you, God called you, God gifted you, and he equipped you for what you have. Value it. Stop trying to compare and say, oh, well, this person does that and that's good because we're all needed. Your community needs you. Your church needs you. Your world needs you. There's no small part in God's kingdom." [23:49] (34 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


8. "Encourage others. Celebrate. Elevate other people. The thing is, I think some of us have it twisted and we think we're playing this giant game of musical chairs where there's one less chair, two less chairs, and we got to fight and scramble and push people out the way, hurt other people to get our seat. But God is inviting us to his banqueting table and there's a seat for every single one of us. You don't got to strive. You don't got to cut people off. You don't got to push them to the ground. There's a seat for you. A seat with your name on it. A table setting just for you." [25:00] (38 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


9. "The world needs us to be who God has called us to be. The world needs us to use all the energy that God has given us for the right things and not for trying to keep up with the Joneses. And the most important thing that we can do to break comparison and to start watering our grass is to invite Jesus into our lives, to surrender, to trust him, the living water, to water our grass and allow it to bloom, to say, God, I don't want to try to be like all these people and all these other people and things. I just want to be like you." [28:34] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


10. "God forgives. This is the gospel. This is the good news. This is the God of love and mercy that we serve that no matter how many times we mess up, no matter how many times we criticize and we bicker and we hurt and we complain, he still says, you're mine. You're my child. I'm still calling you. The gifts of God are without repentance. I haven't canceled you out. You're still chosen. There's still a purpose. Would you just come back to me? Would you just answer my call? I haven't written you off. I still love you. I still have a purpose for you. Your table seat is right here. There's still a seat with your name on it." [28:12] (41 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)