Where in life are you prone to compare your life to others? What happens in your mind and heart when you compare to others? Is it helpful? Hurtful? As we continue our series, 7 Deadly Sins of Suburbia, Nate Hilgenkamp teaches us about the sin of comparison by studying Luke 18:9-14.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
-It’s been well said that comparison is the thief of all joy.
-A parable is a story told in order to emphasize a single point of truth.
-Comparison views life as a competition.
-Some of you have an exhausting life because you are always comparing yourself to and competing with other people.
-Where do you find your worth and value in life? Your salary? Social media likes and comments? How much playing time your kid gets? Your neighborhood?
-If you really want to succeed and you can’t celebrate when other people succeed, you struggle with comparison.
-The sin of comparison is not new or exclusive to Suburbia. It shows up as early as Genesis 4 when Cain kills Abel. There are many examples of comparison all throughout the Scriptures.
-There are typically two different buckets of comparison: materialistic (“I want what they have”) and moralistic (“I’m better than they are”).
-When you pray, who is the focus of your prayer? You or God?
-Comparison crushes relationships.
-When your life is a competition, it makes everyone else your competitor and you isolate yourself, both of which kill your relationships.
-Comparison is killed by humility.
-How do you become humble? Compare yourself to God.
-When you compare yourself to a righteous, holy, & perfect God, there is no other option than to be humble before Him.
-Your job isn’t to compare to other people or Christians. Your job is to pick up your cross and follow Jesus every day.
-If you are too busy focusing on someone else’s life you won’t be able to live your own life.
MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
-Suggested Scripture study: Luke 18:9-14; Exodus 20:17; Genesis 4; Luke 9:46; Isaiah 6:5; Hebrews 10:14-18; John 21:17-25
-Sermon: Apathy