The Curse of Comparison This morning I got a tweet that a large church in the southeast was starting another campus in the county where I started a church over 20 years ago. This church will probably start out with over 2,000 from day one. The church I started finally reached 500 after 14 years. I must confess that unpleasant feelings crept into my heart when I read this tweet. I can't exactly pinpoint them, but they are probably an amalgamation of sadness (that I never achieved mega-churchdom), jealousy (I'm being honest), and an emotion that circles lack of competency (I probably don't have what it takes to be a mega-church pastor). Although I've been gone from the church I started over 9 years now and I serve a good church of over 1,000, the curse of comparison still sometimes rears its ugly head. Our fallen human nature naturally tempts us to compare ourselves with the more successful, the prettier, the smarter. I believe we often do so to build ourselves up do we can feel significant. No matter your vocation, position in life, or size of your ministry if you are a pastor, you probably face this same curse. I don't have pat answers, but a few choices have helped me avoid the vortex of discouragement that comparison can bring: I must remind myself that my identity comes not from my performance, but from my relationship with Christ. I must do my best with the opportunity God gives me right now and if I do, I will please Jesus. Jesus commended the guy who returned 10 talents back to him the same way he commended the guy who returned 4. They each had different levels of giftedness, yet they both were faithful to the task they were given. I must believe the words of Paul when he said that ultimately, it's not what I think of my performance that counts, but what the Lord thinks. 2 Cor. 10.18 (MESSAGE): What you say about yourself means nothing in God’s work. It’s what God says about you that makes the difference. Focusing on the good things that God has allowed me to be involved in, and not focusing on others’ successes, helps me to maintain perspective. | 
