God Has Given Your Life MeaningНамуна

Do Not Compare Purposes. Work Together.

When we start talking about the meaning and purposes of our lives, it can be really easy to start comparing ourselves to other people. We may grow envious of someone else’s purpose or think that one person’s life has more meaning than another’s.

Jesus’ disciples did the same thing. Mark writes about a time that James and John, two brothers who followed Jesus, asked Jesus if He would consider them greater than the others. Luke relates a similar story during Christ’s last supper when the whole group of disciples were arguing about who was the greatest.

In both cases, Christ reminds His followers that they are focused on the wrong things. They wanted to glorify themselves not God, and as we’ve already seen throughout this study, that goes against our purpose. 

Instead of comparing ourselves to each other, we ought to honor one another and lift each other up as brothers and sisters in Christ’s Holy Church. Paul compares the church to a body with many members. Each member does something unique, but in order for a body to function properly, each part needs to do its job well. A hand should not compare itself to a foot because it has a different function. 

Today’s scriptures remind us that we should be the same way, embracing our unique gifts and working together towards the greatest purpose of glorifying God. When we do this, we do not focus on comparison, but instead, we embrace our unique giftings and use them to serve one another and glorify God together.