Daily Devotional For Saturday, May 18, 2024

It is Super Saturday and the day to take a break or catchup on things left undone during the week. None of us would question the worth of Jesus Christ, His sacrifice on the cross for us through His death. Scripture affirms over and over He did not do this because we are good; quite to contrary. The Bible this in the following passages about our “goodness”:

• Romans 3:10-12, As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. (11) No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. (12) All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one” (NLT).
• Psalm 14:1-3, “Only fools say in their hearts, `There is no God.’ They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! (2) The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; He looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. (3) But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!” (NLT).
• Psalm 53:1-3, “Only fools say in their hearts, `There is no God.’ They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! (2) God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; He looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. (3)  But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!” (NLT).

So before we jump on our “high horse” and start getting prideful in ourselves, we need to remind ourselves that all we are are . . . sinners! We are . . . redeemed sinners! That is all we will be until Jesus takes us home to heaven. We are redeemed but it is not by our own goodness. It is not by our own self-righteousness and or our own concept of self-worth. Our worth is not in ourselves, but in what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.

Yet, many Christians struggle with self-worth and their self-image. I know I have. As a teen, you are always comparing yourself to others — especially the popular kids at school and in your neighborhood. I know I did. I was not in that group. I was considered back then as “white-trash.” I was poor.  Neither one of my parents had even graduated from high school. My dad had a blue-collar job and my mom was a stay-home mom. We wore hand-me-downs and at times wherever my mom got our hand-me-down clothes, a kid would come up to me and in front of everyone remind me that shirt or pair of jeans had originally been his. It was a way to bully and remind me I would never fit in that group.

I finally got out of high school and went off to college where things were better because there weren’t the same cliques. There were kids who had cars, money, and etc.  I had neither. My struggle was comparing myself to these kids and my self-esteem plummeted. Self-comparison does a lot of damage to your self-esteem. The Bible says this in 2 Corinthians 10:12, “Of course we would not dare classify ourselves or compare ourselves with those who rate themselves so highly. How stupid they are! They make up their own standards to measure themselves by, and they judge themselves by their own standards!” (GNT). 

God does not want us living a life where we are comparing our lives to other people’s lives and coming to the conclusion we do not “measure up.” Drink the nourishment from this:

John 3:16-17, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (17) God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him” (NLT).  

Praise Jesus Christ we are not condemned by Him, but eternally loved by Him. The Apostle Paul writes this in Colossians 2:9-10,9  “For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, (10) and you have been filled in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority” (ESV). Did you see that? We have been filled with Him, so what more do we need?

As the Apostle Paul said above in 2 Corinthians 10:12, we do not need to be comparing ourselves to others. Paul says this is unwise. What we should be doing instead is reminding ourselves all that God has done for us through Jesus Christ and His Word. For example, consider the words of David in Psalm 139:13-16:

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. (14)  Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. (15)  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. (16) You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (NLT). 

When I was a teen, a youth pastor using this passage said, “God don’t make no junk.” No He doesn’t. Our sin, mistakes, failures, and short-comings can make us feel we are, but if you are saved, God loved you so much to do that inspire of knowing you are a sinner. The Apostle Paul reminds us that our goodness is not the issue; it’s Christ’s goodness. Look at Romans 5:8-11:

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! (10) For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (NLT).

What am I trying to say? The only way to truly let go of self-comparison is to trust what God and God’s Word in what it says about us. Our world is full of sin and our own thoughts can be distorted by what the world has tried to tell us. We all battle the “voices” of others from our past and present. We do remember what people say to us and about us. We especially remember what we say internally to our self about ourself. Instead of listening to the lies of the world, we can turn to God. Leave all of your comparison at the feet of Jesus and know that He will help you walk this road. 

President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” His point was: if we compare ourselves to others, we may be left with feelings of inferiority or superiority—and neither creates an emotionally healthy human being! While God will consistently be molding us to reflect His Son, to have our character become more like Jesus Christ’s character, never does He want us to change who we are. Nowhere in the Bible are we told that God wants us to abandon our unique personalities, traits, or skills. Why? They all are from Him. We are created in His image. Instead, we need to use them for God’s glory. Everyone is different and everyone has their own unique gifts. Maybe all can learn a lesson from former NBA basketball player Scotty Pippin:

“Born into a small house crammed with lots of people, professional basketball player Scottie Pippen didn't have much as a boy. But his journey into the NBA changed all that. From 1999 through 2002, his contract promised him at least $14.7 million a year—not to mention income from endorsements. He already owns a 74-foot yacht and a $100,000 Mercedes.

But that doesn't shield anyone from the negative effects of comparing ourselves to others. A Sports Illustrated feature said: "Before every game in Portland's Rose Garden, Pippen lets his gaze drift over to the courtside seat occupied by Paul Allen, cofounder of Microsoft and owner of both the Trail Blazers and the Seattle Seahawks, a man with a personal net worth of $40 billion. 'What does he have?' Pippen asks. 'Forty billion? How can I make just one billion? I just want one of them! What do I need to do?’" (Source: https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2003/december/14716.html).

For Scotty Pippin, $14.7 million a year is not enough when he compared himself to Paul Allen co-founder of Microsoft. As I wrap up here, pastor and author Tim Keller shares how growing-up his mother was all about making sure as he got older as a teen, he did things that packed what he calls a self-esteem-resume:

“When I was at school, my mother kept saying things like, "You know, honey, you ought to join the chess club." I would say, "Mom, I hate chess." "Yes, I know," she would say, "but it will look so good on your college application." She would try again. "Don't they feed the homeless and hungry downtown, every Saturday morning? Why don't you volunteer for that?" "Mom," I'd say, "I hate that kind of thing." I would get the same response, "I know, honey, but it will look so good on your college application." So, at school, I did all kinds of things that I had absolutely no interest in doing for themselves. I was simply putting together a résumé.

That is what our egos are doing all the time. Doing jobs we have no pleasure in, doing diets we take no pleasure in. Doing all kinds of things, not for the pleasure of doing them, but because we are trying to put together an impressive curriculum vitae. By comparing ourselves to other people and trying to make ourselves look better than others, we are …. trying to create a self-esteem résumé because we are desperate to fill our sense of inadequacy and emptiness. The ego is busy. So busy all the time” (Source: Tim Keller, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness, pp. 19-20).

Questions To Consider

1. There are people who are always trying to re-market themselves to others. Do you agree with the quote from President Theodore Roosevelt? Why or why not? Are you a people-pleaser or a conformist or are you the type of person who says, “I am who I am. I don’t care if you like or accept me. That is on you not me.” 
2. All societies, cultures and sub-cultures have their standards that those in that group are measured by. When you were growing up, what “culture” were you a part of and what standards were you measure by? Did these impact your life in a good or bad way and why?
3. When you are staring at yourself in the mirror, what messages do you send yourself about yourself and why? What would you say to Scotty Pippin and Tim Keller if you could?
4. Self-comparison can be both a sinful and chronic problem. How? I do not remember who said this to me, but years ago someone said to me, “When I was younger, I worried what other people thought about me. In my 40’s I didn’t care what they thought about me. Now that I am older, I’ve learned they weren’t even thinking about me at all.” Do you agree with this or not? Why?
5. Please reread the Bible passages you were given. The reference is underlined just in case you are having trouble finding them. What is Jesus Christ telling you through all of these?

Scripture to Meditate On: Galatians 1:10, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (ESV).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I only want to live for an audience of One — You. I want to please You. I do not want to be held hostage by the opinions of others. I want to live as Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (ESV). I want to experience the truthful promise of Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe” (ESV). Please forgive me when I am more concerned about the opinions of others rather than Your opinion. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside! -- Pastor Kelly