I recently read a paper that said, “Comparison will hinder you from hearing from God.”
The question is WHY? Why does comparison hinder our ability to hear from God? Is it because He does not care? Is it because we do not matter? Absolutely not! In fact the reason is quite the opposite. Comparison hinders our ability to hear from God because comparison reflects a heart that is still hardened. Let me explain. God’s desire is to bring us through His refining fire. He wants us to be like precious gold - with hearts that reflect His pure light. His desire is to burn off the impurities that cause human hearts to hardened. Let’s take a look at God’s instruction book to see what His word says about comparison. The first mention of comparison in the Bible is in Genesis 3, when Satan comes to Eve and tempts her to eat from the forbidden tree. Satan says, “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” Genesis 3:5 Satan tempted both Adam and Eve, because Adam was sitting beside her. Satan paired the forbidden fruit with the desire to be like God. Satan tempted God's human creation by showing them the comparison between them and God and by eating the fruit their eyes would be opened and they would be more like God. Comparison happens through temptation and doubt - and a flesh desire to want something that you do not already have. There’s a heart of discontentment; a feeling of resentment; a longing aroused by someone else's quality or possessions. The comparison that happened in the Garden between Adam and Eve and Satan was not good. That temptation led to a permanent separation - a falling away of the first humans. But God is faithful. In Genesis 3 verse 15, the Creator of Heaven and earth promised a new Seed, a Seed that would crush the head of Satan. God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15 I thank God he is faithful and keeps His promise! I thank God for the promised Seed who is Jesus! The second comparison that happens in scripture is between Adam and Eve’s first two sons, Cain and Abel. “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” God was trying to get Cain to see that has heart was still very hard. God was trying to help Cain create a ground that was fertile. “Now Cain talked with Abel and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” The envy and jealousy that filled Cain’s heart became uncontainable. The sin that poured out was a violent anger that led to a horrible murder. “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” Cain said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord had the same response with Adam when He entered the garden. “Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” Adam said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” Genesis 3:9-10 I’m not saying that Adam’s response was good, because he still hid, but at least he knew he had done something wrong. But within one generation of human separation from God, Cain had already developed a prideful superiority - Cain used sarcasm with God! God said, “What have you done? “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” God hears the blood! The blood of every human who has been murdered! The babies in the womb. The child sacrifices. The children who have been brutally abused, and the poor who have been neglected. God hears the blood! The blood of the beheaded. The blood of those hung. Every murder by bomb and gun - God hears it all! God said to Cain, “When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.” Cain became a wanderer - a wanderer without a home; a wanderer without His God. Cain was a man who had a heart that was hard. Comparisons lead to evil. Humans were created to worship! That is why we have Jesus. When our eyes are focused on Christ, we are not tempted by anything that is void of His light. When our eyes are focused on Christ, we are led by His Holy Spirit, and we are convicted and redirected when we get off course. When our eyes are focused on Christ, we are not distracted by the earthly qualities and possessions of another person. We are totally content with the light that Jesus gives us.
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