It’s often subconscious, but we believers do compare ourselves to one
another in our service to the Lord. It may be that we feel guilty knowing we
should do more or we critique others thinking they aren’t doing as much as they
should or could. The cranky disciples were critical of Mary anointing Jesus
with perfume, but the Lord stops their criticism and draws attention to her
beautiful act of preparing Him for burial. In a sense Jesus actually anoints
Mary (and all of us) when He tells the disciples, “She did what she could...” (Mark 14:8 NIV)
1 comment:
Gail;
-----When I was eighteen I rebuilt a 292 Ford engine. A few special tools were needed, one of which was a torque wrench. This torque wrench was a rather unique tool for not just tightening a nut onto a bolt, but for also measuring how tightly the nut is being cinched down. So on the business end of the wrench it had a fairly delicate gauge. One summer day I was cleaning a few fish for a customer who began to complain about a heal tack sticking through the inner sole of his boot and hurting his foot. I told him he could find a hammer on the shop bench in the adjacent room. A few minutes later he returned to proudly announce how well a torque wrench also served as a hammer. I was not impressed.
-----Comparison is also a tool. My torque wrench did effectively bend his tack, but its abuse risked its effectiveness for measuring tightness. Comparison is the discovery of differences, and differences are as real as the particular tightness of a nut cinched to a bolt. In fact, noticing differences is a systemic part of intelligence. For example, a cat may not perceive much difference between a cup and a bowl, but even a child knows to pour orange juice into the one and cereal into the other since he does perceive their differences. Sometime when developing from a baby into a child, he made a comparison between the two and learned this purposeful differentiation. To an analytical thinker, comparison is most valuable.
-----The most valuable thing comparison gives us is that, “...none can compare with Thee.” (Ps 40:5). It mentally places God in a category of His own. Then of all other things that can be desired, it places wisdom also into its own category (Prov 8:11.) Then amongst all categories comparison sorts stuff into for denotation by words, it serves the extensive metaphorical nature of our very thought process. Jesus continually used comparison. We continually use comparison. There should be neither wonder nor aversion about comparing people.
-----Information, memory, and logic together make intelligence. Comparison is a key component of logic. So a patient having a thumb infection will go to a physician instead of a psychiatrist having reasoned the choice by comparisons. Some needing spiritual healing will fail to compare deeply enough and will go to a psychiatrist instead of a preacher. So also there is a sense of comparison of people present in Paul’s and Peter’s discussion of spiritual gifts, and too at Romans 15:1 where Paul exhorts the strong to bear with the failings of the weak. But all these and the many other instances of comparison in the Word use the torque wrench for its intended purpose.
-----Humility limits intelligence to truthful focus and honorable purposes thus producing wisdom. Arrogance pays no mind to such limits and uses intelligence to best effect personal comfort, thus producing foolishness. Abusing comparison to fulfill any selfish ambition damages a key mental component meant to aid in straightening spiritual paths. Jesus pointed out that difference to Mary’s criticizers.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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