Our Standard of Comparison: Jesus Is Enough in a Never Enough World

Sitting adjacent to me was my dear and beloved friend Amy, the friend that was popular with all our classmates. The one with perfectly placed hair, a charming personality, and the artistic ability to draw like no one else. We were nine and I can still vividly remember our third grade teacher, the look of the classroom, and my intense desire to be Amy. All the “if onlys” didn’t come true that year, nor the following, nor ever. Comparison begins very young.

A strikingly similar scenario is likely being played out in our kids’ classrooms now, as summer fades and the new school year takes flight with excitement, expectations, and anxieties for the young and old. This temptation to compare that I experienced in elementary school resonates in many of our kids, too. And, if we’re honest, it resonates still with us as parents. In a world where covetous desires are constantly being fed from all forms of visual temptations, we must teach our children and remind ourselves to battle well, while keeping the Cross central. In so doing, we and our kids can come through this school year victorious.

Fast forward thirty plus years from my third grade classroom. This past Mother’s Day my daughter asked if we could rent “The Greatest Showman” from Redbox. I agreed and we watched it while the rest of the family was at a baseball game. As I sat there mesmerized by the music, and one song in particular, “Never Enough,” I concluded that this song is too often where I live.

For the next several weeks, not only did I hear the song blaring from my Amazon Alexa, but the refrain of “Never Enough” mulled over and over again in my mind: “All the shine of a thousand spotlights, all the stars we steal from the night sky will never be enough, never be enough. Towers of gold are still too little, these hands could hold the world, but it’ll never be enough, never be enough, for me. Never, never, never, never, never, for me, for me. Never enough!”

Sadly, I must admit that this feeling has become all too familiar and comfortable like a pair of worn pajamas.

"NEVER ENOUGH," OR "CHRIST IS ENOUGH:"
HORIZONTAL VS. VERTICAL LIVING

For many of us, the feeling of never enough is too common , simply, because we compare ourselves to the created order rather than rest content in the purpose of the Creator. We try to find happiness in accomplishments, appearance, success, power, prestige, wealth, accolades, praise, approval, our spouse, and our kids, but the end result is always emptiness. The constant ache of not being enough may drive us to perform, compete with others, or berate ourselves towards excellence, but it only leaves us feeling inadequate. Horizontal living (comparing yourself to others) always leads to unmet expectations, discontentment, and shallow self-worth whereas vertical living (valuing God’s thoughts) leads to fulfillment and joy.

The lie of “never enough” reminds me that I’ve allowed worldly thoughts, possessions, and beliefs to define me, while living under the illusion that perfection is attainable.

The worldly voices that shout from the corner street are where you and I reside and where our kids’ feast. If truth is not spoken on an ongoing basis those voices become deafening and begin to define us.

Many of us are told from a young age that we can be anything, do anything, as long as we pour our hearts into it. Disney’s “Believe” and “live your best life now” aim to inflate our self-esteem, but in the end, it is a deflated like a hot air balloon that cannot lift off the ground. Multitudes of fragile egos find a works-based religion attractive, offering something palpable to give oneself the false comfort of contributing towards meriting heaven. Admitting our depravity and neediness for salvation by grace is anathema to unredeemed hearts. If we are honest, even those of us in Christ have to admit a common allergy to grace. Yet, the cross of Christ creates a level playing field that demolishes all comparisons.

In an age of fake news, processed foods, image management on social media, and air-brushed supermodels, we can all fall prey to consuming the world’s unappetizing meals that leave us starved. These things feed our desires and are easy to come by, but leave us barren with an increasing appetite for more. Only the Word of God can nourish, satisfy, and equip us to combat the constant temptation to compare.

My own covetous heart often stems from demands of what I think I should have or what I should be. How much better is the promise of inheritance and affirmation from the Father that Christ has secured for us? The world tempts us to compare, to buy, buy, and buy some more, but the promises of God provide grounding to the soul, a secure identity, and the secret of being content despite circumstances. Whenever I allow the world to dictate to me what I should or shouldn’t have, my heart envies. And envy takes the heart to whole new levels of frayed relationships, discord, jealousy, and discontentment.

The world shouts but God speaks gently, with soft whispers. We have to slow down, filter out the noise, if we are to hear his voice. “My sheep hear my voice,” said the Good Shepherd. Let the whisper move you into the Word. The Word isn’t fake news that disillusions or a marketing ploy to leave you discontent. “Never enough” dies at the cross, crucified when we yield to the truth that Christ is enough, and is all the enough we will ever need to be forever in the Father’s presence. Let comparisons go with the fading ways of the world, holding fast to the only true news that brings hope, healing, and restoration.

Never enough has to be replaced with Christ is enough. Christ. Is. Everything. Without Christ, we are nothing. Christ is what we long for and if we don’t long for Him, we must plead with Him that He would become enough in our lives.

"THIS IS ME:"
FEARFULLY & WONDERFULLY MADE

In “The Greatest Showman” Hugh Jackman, who plays P. T Barnum, brings the circus to life and the characters break out in song with “This is Me.” Although all these songs have deep secular tones, there are elements of truth, pointing towards the Creator. “This is Me” reminds me of a popular saying in the teenage world which says, “You be You.” There is a celebration in our uniqueness even with our scars and brokenness (inadequacies). This theme is confidently expressed in the lyrics: “When the sharpest words want to cut me down, I’m gonna send a flood, I’m gonna drown them out. This is brave. This is bruised. This is who I’m meant to be. This is me!”

Next time you are tempted to compare, ask the Spirit to flood your mind with God’s Word, resting in Christ’s finished work to drown out the lies of the enemy. The song also echoes a chord from creation, “We are more than we could ever be. We are glorious.” It resonates with Psalm 139:14 which paraphrased says, “we are fearfully and wonderfully made.” Each of us bears the image of God written in our very DNA whether or not we’re pleased with our physical appearance, which for women, in particular, is usually never.

We all have a gift to offer the world that was designed to glorify the Lord. Can we live content with the gifts he has given, and the gifts He has chosen to withhold? Can we rejoice in how the good Father has chosen to bless others with abilities we can only dream of? Can we live with gratitude knowing that we each serve a purpose, and that the Father is most pleased when we fulfill our callings with our heart and soul? Are we pointing our kids to Christ, satisfied with who God has created and is recreating them to be in Christ’s likeness? Or are we trying to change them to meet our expectations of what we want them to be?

As we wait for the ultimate greatest show to become reality on the earth, may we “come alive” with hope and anticipation, as one of the songs in the movie proclaims. The Lord has opened our eyes to the glorious redemption of the Savior. Don’t go back again and live the lie that you’re not enough. May our wandering hearts and brittle bones come alive and take form, expressing life-giving words in our homes, in our community, and to a dying world proclaiming, “Christ is enough!”

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