God’s definition of success v. the world’s
Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. (Matthew 25:14)
When it comes to escaping the comparison trap, there may be no more helpful passage of Scripture than the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25.
Jesus’s parable focuses on a Master (representing himself) who “entrusted his wealth” to three servants. “To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,” and then, he went on a long journey.
Upon his return, the Master found that the first servant had diligently put the Master’s money to work and turned five bags of gold into ten. The Master turned to the first servant and said, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
Then, the Master came to the second servant who turned his two bags of gold into four. And the Master gave him the exact same blessing that he gave the first servant—even though the second servant wound up with six fewer bags of gold.
Do you see how countercultural this is? Secular wisdom would look at this scene and say, Clearly the servant with ten bags is the “winner,” right!? Not in Jesus’s book. Because the Master didn’t compare these guys to each other, he compared them to themselves.
Based on this parable, I think if Jesus were asked to define success in a word it would be stewardship—doing your best in accordance with the Lord’s commands. That points us to the fourth way we can escape the comparison trap: Remembering that while the world will always value being the best, God values us doing our best with talents he has called us to steward.
I hope you see how unbelievably freeing that truth is. Because it is impossible to win the world’s game. There will always be somebody bigger, better, richer, smarter, more popular, more talented, and more successful than you. Always! And so, if the game is about being the best, you will never escape the comparison trap.
But with God, the only way you “lose” is by not suiting up. So long as you stay focused on your calling—day by day seeking to better steward what God has given you as a worshipful response to your salvation—you win (see Ephesians 2:8-10).
The next time you find yourself spiraling into the comparison trap, remember these four biblical ways to escape:
- Confess your pride
- Thank God for the goodness he has shown to you and to others
- Ask yourself if you’re even playing the same game as the person you’re comparing yourself to
- Remember that while the world calls you to be the best, God calls you to do your best
I pray your soul will find rest in these truths today!
