YOU DON’T BRING SATAN’S TOYS INTO UNION WITH CHRIST

AM: I want to do more…  

Betty: Yeah, but you’re pretty impossible to please, aren’t you? You’re pretty demanding and hypercritical. Would you like working for you? 

AM: No. But other people can get much more done. 

Betty: Ok, see, always, always, you want to return to comparisons. It’s the worst thing in the world for you. In fact, I would say Lent starts in March. You might want to write this on your calendar, “Fast from comparisons.” And you might start now, because it’s not gonna be easy. You need to practice giving up comparisons. Every time you tune in and you are comparing, like breaking a bad habit, you have to say to yourself, “Stop that.” It’s hard to break bad habits. But boy, do you have a bad habit of comparing yourself and always finding yourself wanting. And then you go at it and chew it yourself. It’s not gonna be an easy Lent. You need to pray for the grace to be aware of when you’re doing it. That’s first. Because we often are not aware when we have a really bad habit. We are not aware we’re doing it. So, you pray for awareness. And as soon as you start blah, blah, blah…say, “Wait a minute. Hold it. We’re not going there. It’s Lent. We’re fasting from comparisons. And Jesus said there’s no place in him for comparisons. And I want to be in union with Him. So, I got to get out of this bad habit. I can’t be in union with Him playing Satan’s game.” 

You don’t bring Satan’s toys into union with Christ. Satan loves comparisons. In fact, that’s how he helped start the mess with the human race. He said to Eve, ”Oh, wouldn’t you like to be like God?  Adam should have spoken up and said, “Oh, God said not to eat it.” But basically, it was that comparisons’ stuff. And so what Jesus was really saying to us I think is that God really made us unique. We have unique calls. So really, comparisons don’t fit. I took that seriously. I will not let myself get into that. And I noticed I’ve been much happier with what I’m doing now than what I used to do. So, it’s made a big difference. And people won’t get to me like they used to.

Because, in a sense, what you’re doing when you compare is you’re setting yourself up to be hurt. You can actually see the fruits of comparisons are not good. So, that, in itself, should tell you it’s more something that Satan would encourage you into, so he can torture you some more.  To enter into union with God, we need to be wanting to get out of our heart anything that’s not worthy of being one with Him, like these false comparisons. And we do have the help where Jesus said in Scripture, “In Christ Jesus, there are no comparisons.” He’s made us unique. So, we have it on faith that it’s a bad way to go. It’s not going to lead to the Lord.  We want to go the route that which leads to the Lord, not that which leads to the other guy. And we know the other guy loves comparisons. Because they’re a great way to torture people. Remember Cain and Abel? The first murder was brought about by, “Well, God really likes the offering of Abel more than he likes yours, Cain.” It’s been very effectual. You’ve got to hand it to Satan. It works. So, he’s not going to give it up easy. And he’s found out you’re a big fish who bites. So, he says to himself, “Stick it out there, and give it to her.” 

Do you find yourself going into comparisons and coming up short? You can say to yourself, “Wait a minute. Hold it. We’re not going there. It’s Lent. We’re fasting from comparisons.” If comparisons isn’t your problem, you can insert another vice into that sentence, and ask for the graces that are so plentiful during Lent to be at work in your life.

Betty: Yeah, but you’re pretty impossible to please, aren’t you? You’re pretty demanding and hypercritical. Would you like working for you?