The scariest game a creative person can play is the game of comparisons.
It’s especially scary on Sundays. We work hard to prepare for Sunday. We put in a lot of hours to create our best work. Then, thanks to twitter, FB, Instagram or whatever social stream we are rocking, we sit back and have a real time view of what all of our “friends” have created.
And so it begins.
We are inundated by voices that tell us we are not good enough. Voices that say our messages are not strong enough. Voices that say our sermons or worship sets won’t move people closer to God. These voices make us doubt our content, our effort, and our execution. These voices have no right to exist in our heads. These voices are not healthy, and they are surely not God’s voice. These voices leave us feeling empty, devalued, scared, and unsatisfied with our work. We begin to wonder why we didn’t have “that idea.” These voices cause us to doubt our value and the position God has placed us in. Why didn’t we use that song in our worship set? What if we would’ve created that lighting scene on our stage? These voices fill our head with the wrong type of “what if questions.”
The truth is this: you are not your “friends” and your “friends” are not you. Stop comparing. My friend Jon Acuff talks about how we often compare our beginning to someone else’s middle. Comparing Cross Point at 8 years old to Willow Creek at 20+ years old is just not fair. Still, we do it every day. Especially on Sundays.
So today, instead of comparing yourself, believe in yourself and your team. You are creating the right experiences for your audience. You don’t have to be that other guy, or that cool church, or that super creative chick…it’s not just okay for you to be you…it’s necessary! Instead of comparing yourself to others on twitter, cheer them on. Deep down – they are just as scared and are probably comparing themselves as well.
Thank you.
a-stinkin-men!!
Great post, bro…full of such honesty and truth. Thanks for this.
Great Post!
I think that Steven Furtick said it best last week on Twitter:
“I think that One of the reasons we’re so insecure is that we compare our behind-the-scenes to everybody else’s highlight reel”
Celebrating people for their giftings and what they are doing not comparing! Aaron Neiquist has a song called “carry each other ( http://bit.ly/qUWtu9 )” that nails this… When we celebrate each other instead of playing the compare game there is no fight to win because the battle is already won-
Great word Stephen…very true. Thanks for sharing!
That quote was stellar when I first heard it man. I gotta continuously remind myself of this since I’m really just starting out. Keep hustl’n on these post man. Dig’n them
Great post. Everyone’s situation is different. For instance I serve at a 100 yr. old church where change and modernization is still resisted by many. It’s always a good reminder to compare work to yourself in your own arena, and do the best you can.
I think this is one of the areas we who sit in the audience fail our leaders in most…we just don’t support you enough. I know no amount of kind words can prevent the comparison game, it’s human nature, everybody does it. But you all who lead often get the double whammy…you do to yourself, then some of us do it too. It’s not fair. Our new worship leader isn’t just like the guy that came before. God has gifted him in similar ways but how those gifts are expressed are different. Not better, not worse, just different. So I have no right to compare. My “job” is to support, love, pray for, encourage, etc. my brothers and sisters in leadership. I need to be telling them when that song just ministered to my heart, or how they spoke truth into my life, or however God has used them to bless me.