AVOIDING* THE HALL OF MIRRORS
OR ESCAPING
CHAPTER 5
Compare and Despair (2|2)
Pages 69-74
James 1:13-15 (NIV) When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
2 Corinthians 8:13-15 (NIV) Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”
“When it comes to sin, we are dealing with something more powerful than others, something that can literally take over our hearts.” Have you ever robbed yourself of time, energy, and resources with covetousness? Saul is an extreme example, and sadly, the lightbulb never came on for him. How have you felt and what have you done when the lightbulb comes on and illuminates what you have spent on whatever it is that you are coveting? Do you even desire it anymore?
“Who can blame us for wanting to share the best things about our lives? But it can be motivated by competitiveness, a kind of selfish ambition, where we want to be (or at least feel) ahead of or better than others.” What is your response to this statement?
How do you deal with one-upmanship? Do you get annoyed? Do you compare yourself to what’s being said? Do you wish they’d just shut up for the love of all things good and holy? What’s happening in your heart when you are dealing with one-upmanship?
“There can also be moments and seasons when we seem to be the ‘chosen one’ in some way, or where we are aware that our success exceed those around us. While this is typically easier to deal with emotionally, it can actually leave us just as vulnerable; we can fall into a loss of perspective at best, and delusions of grandeur at worst!” Have you experienced ‘seasons’ when you seem to be the ‘chosen one’? How did/do you deal with that?
“God, in His eternal wisdom, endows different ones of us with different measures of talents and ordains varied good works in advance for us to walk in, overseeing the circumstances of our lives with loving care. Our responsibility is to simply be faithful with (and enjoy) what He has entrusted to us.” What is your response to this statement? How does someone “simply be faithful (and enjoy)” what God entrusts to us?