Comparison Kills

I am becoming more and more aware that comparison is by far the biggest threat to personal and communal growth. 

The first wave of pilgrims to return to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel would soon be aware of this too.  Responding to a number of prophecies that foretold Judah’s return from exile, this sizeable band of Jews quickly set about rebuilding an altar and laying a foundation for the new temple. 

The project then hits its first, and ultimately fatal, obstacle. 

As they come to give thanks and consecrate the work, a number of older Jews compare their efforts to the glorious temple built by Solomon.  They are so overwhelmed by the comparison that they weep aloud - no whimpering sob mind you but a gut wrenching, soul raking wail that is so strident no-one can distinguish between the sound of praise and the sound of disconsolation.  “And the sound was heard far away” – says the book of Ezra.

Coupled with this, the local Samaritans escalate their dissent and opposition to the Jews’ presence.  A short time later, leadership changes back in the Babylonian lead to the discontinuation of the subsidy that Cyrus had provided.

The project falters and is discontinued.  As Bible scholar David Pawson puts it in his book “Unlocking the Bible”:

“So fantasy gave way to reality, the size of the task discouraged the people and their hearts sank.  They stopped building and for 14 years didn’t put another stone on the temple, leaving just the foundations and low walls.  On top of scratching a living, building temples was a luxury they couldn’t afford.  Their concern now was mere survival”.

Into this context speak the prophets Haggai and Zechariah –

“Give careful thought to your ways” says Haggai.  “Is it a time for you to be living in panelled houses while this house remains a ruin?”  Reflecting on the daily reality of drought, crop failure and famine, he emphasises that the community’s meagre resources are invested in the right place. 

Zechariah is at pains to remind the people that all great journeys begin with a single step:

“Do not despise the day of small things – for the Lord rejoices to see the work BEGIN!”

In what ways do we allow comparison to strangle our own development?  Do any of the following comments (whether consciously or unconsciously made) sound familiar?

•  “We need to be more like church X down the road or we won’t be effective”
• “Wow, this colleague of mine is so good at his job...if I can’t be more like him I won’t be a success"
• “I’m not doing as much as other people in my church – this surely means I’m missing God on something”

Let me close with an excerpt from a great book by founder of CD Baby Derek Sivers. His thoughts share some practical advice on how to surmount the obstacle of comparison.  His book is entitled “Anything you want to be”

“Watch out when anyone (including you) says he wants to do something big, but can’t until he raises the money.  It usually means the person is more in love with the idea of being big than with actually doing something useful.  For an idea to get big, it has to be useful.  And being useful doesn’t need funding. 

If you want to be useful, you can always start now, with only 1 percent of what you have in your grand vision.  It’ll be a humble prototype of your grand vision, but you’ll be in the game.  You’ll be ahead of the rest, because you actually started, while others are waiting for the finish line to magically appear at the starting line.

For example, let’s say you have a vision of making an international chain of enlightened modern schools.  You picture it as a huge, world changing organisation, with hundreds of employees, dozens of offices and expensive technology.  But instead of waiting for that, you start by teaching somebody something this week.  Find someone who will pay to learn something, meet him anywhere, and begin.  It will be nothing but you, a student and a notebook, but you will be in business and you can grow it from there.

Starting small puts 100% of your energy on actually solving real problems for real people.  It gives you a stronger foundation to grow from.  It eliminates the friction of big infrastructure and gets right to the point”