A Full Time Job

My BFF is one smart cookie. Sure, she's deathly afraid of lizards and her hair being too greasy, but she knows a lot about life. Today in the car she told me about when she used to work with kids a lot, she would tell them, "Just worry about yourself... that's a full-time job." Sure, that's great advice for kids. Just pay attention to what you're doing instead of trying to tattle on everyone else. Then, you're more likely to behave and less likely to be upset over what someone else does/has.

It got me to thinking... some adults, myself included, could really use the same advice. If we were only concerned with what we were doing and not into everyone else's business, how much better could our lives be? Jesus talked about not trying to pick out the speck in your brother's eye when you yourself have a plank sticking out of yours (Matt. 7:3-5). The truth of the matter is, if we all payed attention to our own troubles and what we're doing for the kingdom, we wouldn't have time to point out anyone else's faults or start needless arguments over things that are really inconsequential in the light of eternity. My pastor, Randy Humphrey also put it this way- we spend too much time arguing about today, that we don't think about the future. In other words, we're wasting time!

I think this little proverb has other applications to life as well. I'm a musician. My greatest passion (besides Jesus, of course) is music. I love writing, singing, playing it... but sometimes I spend too much time comparing myself to others. I wish I could sing like her; I wish I could play guitar like him. And today I heard God saying to me, "I made you to be you, not someone else. You be the best you can be." I know it sounds simple, but it really brought me such a sense of peace over things I used to really be insecure about. I guess I used to think of God listening to me sing like a heavenly Simon Cowell (that's not blasphemous, right?). Anyway, I used to imagine Him just kind of sitting there listening to Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, and me. I would think, clearly I'm not as good as they are. But God doesn't sit there comparing the gifts and talents He gave us to the ones He gave others, so why do we?

Whether it's comparing yourself to others or judging others for their wrongs, it's not how God intended for us to view the world. I think God cares more about our unity in Christ (Eph. 4:2-6) than our momentary squabbles. Things that are really important, like building encouraging relationships (both with believers and nonbelievers), should take precedence over wondering whether Susie's pineapple upside-down cake tastes better than yours. And you should be listening to the sermon on Sunday morning, not pondering if Jimmy went out drinking the night before. In short, just worry about yourself... that's a full-time job.