FRIDAY, MAY 17
“And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”
Genesis 3:8 (ESV)
LIE THREE: COMPARISON
There was a new mom who told this story: “I shouldn’t have been upset, but I must admit I was. My doctor released me from the hospital only two days after my baby was born because my mother would be here to help me. I had been home only about an hour when the doorbell rang. Our neighbor’s thirteen-year-old son was standing outside. “Can I see your baby?” What could I say? “Sure, come in.”
As he peered into the crib he sucked in his breath through his teeth. “Wow! Sure looks funny, doesn’t he? All red and wrinkly like an old man. Hey, you!” he said, thrusting a grubby finger into the tiny fist of my brand-new baby. “He sure isn’t very good-looking, is he,” he said cheerfully, blowing a big bubble with the gum he chewed noisily. I choked back the words I wanted to say, and instead said, “Give him time.”
After a few awkward moments, the boy left, and as I closed the door behind him, I turned to see my mother looking at me with a bemused expression. “It’s not easy to take, is it,” she said. “But I’m afraid it’s only the beginning.” “The beginning of what?” “Of your baby being evaluated by others. People more often than not say what they think. He’ll always be compared to someone else. That’s life in a competitive world.” (The Comparison Game by Mildred Tengbom)
It so easy to fall into the comparison trap of parenting. Stephanie shared on Sunday one of those traps is believing, “I must compete with other moms to feel valuable.” Well Eve knew what it was like to feel the failures and frustrations of parenting. Eve raised kids who struggled with favoritism, jealousy and eventually one would literally kill the other one. The Bible has messy families just like our families today can get messy.
Eve fails in the garden and immediately goes and tries to hide from God. But God comes and finds Eve. The amazing thing is that God still loved Eve and still protected Eve. No matter what anyone else says or thinks about your performance as a mother or any other role you have, the Creator of the universe thought you were valuable enough to die for your sins and invite you into a relationship with Him. Take some time and thank God for knowing about your sin and still loving you enough to die for you. Thank Him for giving you your worth and value and making you in His image.
