I have been trying to get this into words for a blog post for a while & could never really get it out the way I wanted. This blogger did it beautifully. (I already shared on my Facebook page and would love for you to follow us there if you’re not already.) Ladies, I encourage you to take 5-10 minutes to read that post when you have a chance. I even love the title: “Having a Messy House Does Not Make You More of a Real Mom.” SO much mommy bashing & judgment going on these days, and I truly believe it roots back to our own insecurity & perceived weaknesses. The worst part of that all? The message we are teaching our kids.
We live in a world of comparison even though we know “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
And unfortunately, I think mamas are some of the worst. Maybe it’s with a job or home or children or marriage or wardrobe or figure…or maybe with something much more subtle. Our own parenting.
We measure everything using the wrong measuring tools. Where is Christ in that picture?? We are simply measuring against others, and that my friends, is EXHAUSTING. It’s a dark pit that is teaching our children some pretty yucky habits, and we may not even realize we’re doing that. That’s one of Satan’s most deceptive tools you know…getting us caught in a tangled web we don’t even recognize is sin.
One thing that REALLY helped me in this area was recognizing comparison for what it really is: discontentment.
When our cups are SO FULL of thankfulness, we don’t have time to compare ourselves to anyone else and feel discontent.
My mentor recently told me “Satan cannot get in from the outside without an invitation from the inside.” She was referring to discontentment & also reminded me that “the sin of discontentment puts your whole family in jeopardy.” She told me the story of Achan from Joshua 7. Definitely read it when you have a chance. Basically, Achan’s greediness was hindering the entire army from victory because he was being disobedient to the Lord. How many times as moms are we keeping our whole family from victory because we are “hiding treasures in our camp”…or discontent? With life, family, circumstances, ourselves??
The Bible is clear that godliness with contentment is great gain. (1 Timothy 6:6)
Mamas, if we want our babies to grow knowing a confidence in the Lord and a heart of contentment, we have to model it for them.
Know that you are made in the image of Christ. (Ephesians 2:10) Strive only to be more like HIM. (Galatians 2:20) Be content with what you have. (Hebrews 13:5) Be on guard against covetousness. (Luke 12:15) In all things, give thanks. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
3 comments:
The only thing we should be comparing our lives to is the Word of God. This is our manual for living and everything we need for life and godliness is in it. If we feel confident in our convictions and they line up to the Word of God, we shouldn't care what others think. We only want to please the Lord and become more and more transformed into the image of Christ!
I really agree with the Roosevelt quote, it can mean that any triumphs you've had are instantly dampened, because there always seems to be someone who is better than you!
It took me a REALLY long time to learn this. Probably longer than it should have taken me. When I was struggling with this, at first, I was extremely prideful and thought I needed the "BEST" and was consumed by it, causing extreme discontent. I then took a turn for the opposite side, and began having issues with those who seemed to have more/do more/clean more, etc. with the lie that "messy houses mean happy moms". I was very open at one point in trying to relish in that phrase, as if it would somehow begin to convince me that I didn't feel what I was feeling whenever things weren't tidy. Again, a total lie from the Enemy. I feel like if I pay attention really well, I notice that over time I tend to believe certain lies from Satan. First it was having the best will make me happy. Then we had "the best" for a few years, and guess what? I was discontent about other things. I realized that the vicious cycle NEVER ENDS! For me, once I began homeschooling, it was like all of my previous issues with comparison just went out the window. It helped me mentally to know that I wasn't even in the same category as ___ because our family just lives different day-to-day lives. That opened the even bigger picture that we are ALL different, and we all live different lives regardless of schooling, parenting, etc. I am so thankful that through prayer and a LOT of commitment, I feel very content and confident in what I have in Christ, instead of earthly things. It feels like freedom :) It definitely brought back JOY in the every day.
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