'Comparison is the thief of all joy'. But not all comparison. As we've seen in the last three posts, comparing God to ourselves and to others, to angels and to idols, inspires worship and trust. But two can play at that game and in John's Revelation they do. A beast rises out of the sea - the place of chaos and confusion - and to it the dragon gives 'his power and his thr...
Keep ReadingAt the heart of Christianity lies a problem how do you describe the Trinity? Of what can you say, 'O, the Trinity is like this'? An egg? A three-leafed clover? Water in its solid, liquid and gas phases? All fall woefully short. There simply is nothing else like the Triune God. And yet, we're invited to compare Him to others, but not so we can find an adequate comparison, ...
Keep ReadingIn the last post, Incomparable God, we considered how comparing ourselves to God can become a means to praise and proclamation. But that is not the end of the fruit that can come from right comparison. Consider Job. A righteous man who suffered terribly, Job deserved answers if any man did. But did he get them? No. In fact, what he got was more questions - questions direc...
Keep ReadingTheodore Roosevelt reportedly described comparison as 'the thief of all joy'. He certainly has a point. If you constantly compare yourself to others it will rob you of the joy you might otherwise have experienced in what you have and the joy in what they have. And a joyless life, pickpocketed by comparing, is a barren life. Having said that, I'd like to start further back...
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