The trap of comparison.
Every day I find myself flicking through instagram at the food people are cooking, the clothes they are wearing and perhaps more pertinently, what they are preaching about and where.
Many churches now post their highlights from the weekend just gone and just like influencers and regular posters we generally see the highlights. We don’t see the stumble over words, the words spelt incorrectly on the screen or the song which did not quite work. We present ourselves how we wish to be seen.
What this does to me can tempt me to the place and trap of comparison. Why isn’t God bringing in that crowd to my place, why don’t I have that zinger of a comment which cuts through the noise like that celebrity pastor.
Jealousy has become so much easier in this age of instant connection and visualisation of reality.
The solution is to know my place. To what God has called me to, and indeed what I am to aspire to. This does not lead to sluggishness or lack of initiative. God has called me to know my place in the Kingdom. That is a place of satisfaction but also a place of holy discontent.