Thought of the Day !!

Each person should judge his own actions and not compare himself with others. Then he can be proud for what he himself has done.
Galatians 6:4 (NCV)

I've heard people tell me that they could never be as good a Christian as someone else in the church that they were comparing themselves to. Have you ever done that? Have you ever taken some "saint" that you see as nearly flawless and compare your Christian life to theirs? Often times when people do this, they simply give up trying to grow in certain areas because they believe that they'll never be as good as such and such.

One of my dear friends who has gone to be with the Lord now, Wayne McCord, used to just irritate me to death. He irritated me because of his great humility and gentleness. What was irritating was not that he had these great qualities, but the fact that I judged my own humility and gentleness according to what I saw in him. He, on the other hand, was simply trying to live up to the way that Jesus would desire him to live.

I learned a great deal from Wayne. I see how his influence on my life has helped me to be more gentle and humble. But as I look at myself as a follower of Jesus, I'll never be happy as I look at others and judge my actions and compare myself to them.

I believe we're called to live our lives patterned by the example of Jesus as he walked this earth. We must understand that there will be times we fail and areas of life that need more growth than others. We must celebrate the giftedness of others and not compare ourselves to them. And we must also celebrate our success in growing in whatever areas we grow. I definitely believe God does.

In the love of Christ,
greg