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Plant
It is so tempting to compare our lives to others’, especially now that people’s lives are so readily on display through the many-headed monster of media in all its ubiquitous forms. Unless you are disciplined, really disciplined, you can hardly escape the nagging, on-going, never-ending temptation to compare everything you do and say to other’s lives.
Last summer, I was at Mapleridge Ranch for a week. It’s a small Christian sleep-away camp in Owego, NY run by my cousin, Duane, and his wife Tiana. One of the things they are committed to is giving kids an opportunity to be unplugged. On Sunday, when everyone arrives there is a general reticence to give up the phone, but by the next Saturday, there’s a reticence to take it back. All through the week, campers engaged with increasing freedom in being themselves, joining in with joy and enthusiasm in all the silly games and activities. And, why not? No one had their phone out, and there was no threat of them being exposed. It was beautiful!
Regularly the campers report that being free of the constant pressure and nagging vibrations of their devices, is their favorite part of the camp experience.
Last summer, I was at Mapleridge Ranch for a week. It’s a small Christian sleep-away camp in Owego, NY run by my cousin, Duane, and his wife Tiana. One of the things they are committed to is giving kids an opportunity to be unplugged. On Sunday, when everyone arrives there is a general reticence to give up the phone, but by the next Saturday, there’s a reticence to take it back. All through the week, campers engaged with increasing freedom in being themselves, joining in with joy and enthusiasm in all the silly games and activities. And, why not? No one had their phone out, and there was no threat of them being exposed. It was beautiful!
Regularly the campers report that being free of the constant pressure and nagging vibrations of their devices, is their favorite part of the camp experience.
We were not designed to be endlessly bombarded with all that comes with a digitally connected world. The result is a paralyzing sense of discouragement and anxiety as we struggle to get our heads above the temptation to compare our lives to unachievable standards.
How can you focus on doing a good job with the opportunities you DO have when anything you try to do can instantly be measured against someone who is doing it ten times better, faster, more creatively, and for a profit? You can’t! And you’re not supposed to.
Paul was confronted with a similar issue in I Corinthians 3:6-9 when people were comparing his efforts as a preacher to those of Apollos. Here’s what Paul says, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters are anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” In other words, you don’t compare! Your purpose is yours alone. Paul wasn’t a memorable preacher like Apollos because he was destined to be the author of much of the New Testament. His preaching was secondary to God’s call on His life to write, build relationships, and empower leaders. Imagine what we would be missing if Paul had forsaken his seed in order to be more like Apollos.
Paul was handed a seed by God and expected to plant it in obedience and so were you. In this second step of embracing seedtime in your life, just plant the seed you have – that’s it. Play the instrument, even if you don’t get a scholarship for it. Play the sport, even if you don’t go pro; or go pro with the sport if that’s the seed you’ve been handed. But do what you’ve been called to do with the seed you’ve been given and leave comparison to the birds!
Maybe you’d consider heading north to Owego, NY this summer for a week at Mapleridge camp where you can unplug and free yourself of the poison of comparison. You’ll love it, I promise. We’ll be there!
But, if it’s not Mapleridge, let it be somewhere. The seed you’ve been given is too important to the work of God in and through your life to be left to rot in the silo of comparison. Plant it, whatever it is, and trust God to make it grow in your life and community.
Westminster Christian School, located in Palmetto Bay, Florida, is a private, college-preparatory school for children from preschool through twelfth grade.