“You’re not good enough.”
“You’re not like the “good Christians.”
“You’re never going to find God’s peace. Ever.”
Those are just a few piercingly negative thoughts in the deceptive narrative that tormented me early in my faith walk. It felt like a tape was playing on an endless loop in my mind. A painful story to be sure, but one I want to share with you here because of what God has done with and through those circumstances.
THE COMPARISON TRAP
One of the roadblocks separating me from God–as the negative mind tapes droned on–came when I compared myself to other Christians. This idealized but false view of the Christian life looked a world away from what I would ever be able to pull off in my life.
I was constantly wondering what the difference was between a Christian who models Christ and another who does not. I was blessed to get God’s answer—the only difference is that one knows he or she is truly FORGIVEN…and the other does NOT. It has nothing to do with trying hard or being privy to some special formula.
“We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.” 2 Corinthians 10:12
This truth helped me steer clear of viewing other Christians as the ideal model of Christ-like character. Instead, I accepted that God’s grace had already made me whole in HIS image.
That’s it—we are to look to Christ himself for our model of the Christian life. For me, the only way I could arrive at that ideal destination was to blow up the negative mind tapes that had been recorded throughout my life.
It was imperative that I remove the world’s lies from my mind’s computer and install God’s truths. So that’s exactly what I did. And you can do it, too.
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Romans 8:29
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