You Can't Compare

No Comparison

Dear Dad,

Are you a better Christian than other people?

Your Son

Dear Son,

The most dangerous idea we can develop as Christians is that we are being "better" Christians than other people. Too often, we pick our choice of activity or behavior based on what we consider to be good as compared to the same as our family, friends, and fellow church-goers. We usually rationalize them with sentences that start with "At least I don't... ."

I'll give you a concrete example of what I mean:

While checking out the Facebook page of a person that attends our church, I noticed posts that were not what I would consider to be very "Christianly." Because this person is a well respected individual in the church, something interesting happened in my brain. I didn't think "Wow, that isn't very Christian." No, I thought "Well if he can do that, then I can do such and such." Bad, bad, bad.

Comparing your righteousness to another person's is like two cars in a junkyard debating which one is in a worse state of disrepair. Humans are broken and are not worthy to be compared to. Jesus is the perfect standard that you should aspire to emulate. But, here is the rub: you will never be perfect.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't try though. There is an old saying: If you reach for the stars, you will touch the moon every time. Reach for Jesus, reach with all your might. Reach high and don't bother bending over to pick up the "righteousness" of your fellow humans.

Your Father

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