WEBVTT 00:00:03.560 --> 00:00:05.780 Hello, and welcome to this week's episode of 00:00:05.780 --> 00:00:08.919 Trinity Sermons. And happy spring! To mark the 00:00:08.919 --> 00:00:10.900 beginning of spring, we're starting a brand new 00:00:10.900 --> 00:00:13.779 teaching series called Spring Cleaning, where 00:00:13.779 --> 00:00:16.019 over the next three weeks, we're going to clear 00:00:16.019 --> 00:00:18.920 out the clutter of comparison, complaining, and 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:21.879 criticism. Today, we're looking at the comparison 00:00:21.879 --> 00:00:24.859 trap, that trap that steals our joy and keeps 00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:27.600 us looking sideways instead of looking at the 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:35.070 good things that God is doing in our life. Today's 00:00:35.070 --> 00:00:37.250 reading is from the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 00:00:37.250 --> 00:00:41.530 20, verses 1 to 15. For the kingdom of heaven 00:00:41.530 --> 00:00:43.609 is like a landowner who went out early in the 00:00:43.609 --> 00:00:46.450 morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He 00:00:46.450 --> 00:00:49.310 agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and 00:00:49.310 --> 00:00:52.369 sent them into his vineyard. About nine in the 00:00:52.369 --> 00:00:54.369 morning he went out and saw others standing in 00:00:54.369 --> 00:00:57.429 the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, 00:00:57.490 --> 00:01:00.250 you also go and work in my vineyard and I will 00:01:00.250 --> 00:01:04.390 pay you whatever is right. So they went. He went 00:01:04.390 --> 00:01:06.730 out again about noon and about three in the afternoon 00:01:06.730 --> 00:01:10.510 and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon, 00:01:10.609 --> 00:01:12.689 he went out and found still others standing around. 00:01:13.390 --> 00:01:15.930 He asked them, why have you been standing here 00:01:15.930 --> 00:01:18.969 all day long doing nothing? Because no one has 00:01:18.969 --> 00:01:22.269 hired us, they answered. He said to them, you 00:01:22.269 --> 00:01:25.569 also go work in my vineyard. When evening came, 00:01:25.790 --> 00:01:27.950 the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 00:01:28.069 --> 00:01:31.260 call the workers and pay them their wages. beginning 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:33.459 with the last ones hired and going on to the 00:01:33.459 --> 00:01:36.819 first. The workers who were hired about five 00:01:36.819 --> 00:01:39.439 in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:43.480 From those who came who were hired first, they 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:47.120 expected to receive more. But each of them also 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:50.640 received a denarius. When they received it, they 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:53.659 began to grumble against the landowner. These 00:01:53.659 --> 00:01:55.879 who were hired last worked only one hour, they 00:01:55.879 --> 00:01:58.760 said, and you have made them equal to us. who 00:01:58.760 --> 00:02:01.159 was born the burden of the work and the heat 00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:05.180 of the day. But he answered one of them, I am 00:02:05.180 --> 00:02:07.739 not being unfair to you, friend. Didn't you agree 00:02:07.739 --> 00:02:10.759 to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:13.780 I want to give the one who was hired last the 00:02:13.780 --> 00:02:16.800 same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:19.719 do what I want with my own money? Or are you 00:02:19.719 --> 00:02:22.599 envious because I am generous? The word of the 00:02:22.599 --> 00:02:26.569 Lord. I'll tell you, it is that time of year. 00:02:26.710 --> 00:02:29.650 It is spring cleaning time when we kind of go 00:02:29.650 --> 00:02:31.770 through our houses or garages or closets and 00:02:31.770 --> 00:02:34.830 see, you know, what needs to go, what needs to 00:02:34.830 --> 00:02:38.490 stay. But of course, if we're honest, it's not 00:02:38.490 --> 00:02:40.310 just our homes that need a little spring cleaning 00:02:40.310 --> 00:02:42.930 from time to time. It's actually our lives that 00:02:42.930 --> 00:02:46.069 need that. Our hearts can be cluttered up by 00:02:46.069 --> 00:02:49.849 all sorts of junk in there. And, you know, some 00:02:49.849 --> 00:02:52.830 of the things we know are there. Other things 00:02:52.830 --> 00:02:55.610 are kind of hard to... see right we can look 00:02:55.610 --> 00:02:58.490 really put together on the outside but on the 00:02:58.490 --> 00:03:02.129 inside things can be a real mess so what we're 00:03:02.129 --> 00:03:03.990 going to do is over the next three weeks we're 00:03:03.990 --> 00:03:05.770 going to do a little cleaning up and clearing 00:03:05.770 --> 00:03:08.770 out of some of the clutter that gets into our 00:03:08.770 --> 00:03:10.689 hearts specifically three things we're going 00:03:10.689 --> 00:03:13.490 to try to get rid of the comparing to get rid 00:03:13.490 --> 00:03:16.349 of the complaining and to get rid of the criticizing 00:03:16.349 --> 00:03:21.289 that goes on in here Now, there is a danger to 00:03:21.289 --> 00:03:24.069 this kind of a sermon. And the danger is, is 00:03:24.069 --> 00:03:25.930 that it turns into one of those sermons that 00:03:25.930 --> 00:03:29.110 it's just like, oh, just try harder. Just try 00:03:29.110 --> 00:03:31.449 to fix up your own life. Just, you know, try 00:03:31.449 --> 00:03:35.409 to make this week better than last week. And 00:03:35.409 --> 00:03:37.090 of course, you know, we know that doesn't work, 00:03:37.210 --> 00:03:39.409 right? The kind of work that happens in our heart 00:03:39.409 --> 00:03:42.270 is not stuff that we can do on our own. Only 00:03:42.270 --> 00:03:46.280 God can do that. work. So that's why every week 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:49.080 in this series, we're going to start with a prayer. 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:53.699 This is a prayer that comes from Psalm 139, and 00:03:53.699 --> 00:03:55.219 I'm going to read it to you, and then we're going 00:03:55.219 --> 00:03:58.199 to read it together. It says, search me, God, 00:03:58.379 --> 00:04:02.900 and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious 00:04:02.900 --> 00:04:06.960 thoughts. See if there's any offensive way in 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:09.500 me. God is doing the searching here. And lead 00:04:09.500 --> 00:04:14.939 me in the way everlasting. Now, when we begin 00:04:14.939 --> 00:04:17.180 with a prayer like that, it does two things. 00:04:17.259 --> 00:04:19.620 First of all, this is not about behavior modification. 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:23.459 This is about heart transformation. Search me, 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:26.720 God, and know my heart. And secondly, a prayer 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:30.759 like this is inviting God into this kind of work 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:33.279 that needs to happen in our hearts. This is a 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:37.399 God thing. Search me, God. So what I want to 00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:40.660 do is invite you and myself to pray this prayer 00:04:40.660 --> 00:04:44.060 together today and for the next two weeks so 00:04:44.060 --> 00:04:46.500 that this isn't some kind of sermon that's all 00:04:46.500 --> 00:04:49.160 based on moralism, but on God doing work in our 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:54.100 lives. Let's pray it together. Search me, God, 00:04:54.180 --> 00:04:59.339 and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious 00:04:59.339 --> 00:05:04.399 thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:10.180 me and lead me in the way everlasting. Amen. 00:05:10.339 --> 00:05:14.360 Now, I really hope that prayer travels with you 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:17.060 for these next three weeks and far beyond. And 00:05:17.060 --> 00:05:20.360 we're going to begin. By going through our first 00:05:20.360 --> 00:05:24.899 pile and clearing out comparison. You know and 00:05:24.899 --> 00:05:27.040 I know that comparison can make a real mess of 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:29.519 our lives. And it does that because it changes 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:32.519 how we see other people. It changes how we see 00:05:32.519 --> 00:05:34.699 ourselves. And it even changes, as we'll see 00:05:34.699 --> 00:05:38.399 in a moment, how we see God. Now, I've given 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:40.019 you a few little teaching notes that I would 00:05:40.019 --> 00:05:42.519 encourage you to follow along and make sure you 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:44.379 get the most out of our time together this morning. 00:05:44.579 --> 00:05:47.199 But I want to just start with the story that 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:50.259 Jen read for us a few moments ago. There's a 00:05:50.259 --> 00:05:53.019 landowner and he's got some work to do in his 00:05:53.019 --> 00:05:55.740 field. And so he goes out to hire a bunch of 00:05:55.740 --> 00:05:57.519 hired hands. And he says, guys, I'm going to 00:05:57.519 --> 00:05:59.699 pay you a denarius for this work. And that was 00:05:59.699 --> 00:06:03.759 a fair and good wage for a day's work. But then 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:06.620 as the day goes on, he goes out to get more workers. 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:08.620 He gets some at 9 a .m., he gets some at noon, 00:06:08.759 --> 00:06:12.000 he gets some more workers at 3 p .m., and even 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.660 one hour before quitting time, he goes out and 00:06:14.660 --> 00:06:17.420 gets some more workers. Well, the end of the 00:06:17.420 --> 00:06:19.399 workday comes around, and it's time to gather 00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:21.920 everybody together. It's time to pay everyone. 00:06:22.459 --> 00:06:26.540 And guess what? Looky, looky. all the workers 00:06:26.540 --> 00:06:30.060 end up getting the same denarius, the same wage. 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:32.819 Now you would think that those who agreed to 00:06:32.819 --> 00:06:35.639 that wage would be very happy, but actually they're 00:06:35.639 --> 00:06:38.699 not. They're not anymore. Because why? Because 00:06:38.699 --> 00:06:41.259 they've started to look sideways and they've 00:06:41.259 --> 00:06:45.259 seen what the others have also received and they 00:06:45.259 --> 00:06:52.060 are not happy about that. This is what people 00:06:52.060 --> 00:06:55.449 call the comparison trap. The comparison trap 00:06:55.449 --> 00:07:00.110 is this. It's resenting God's goodness to others 00:07:00.110 --> 00:07:05.709 while ignoring God's goodness to me. And the 00:07:05.709 --> 00:07:08.949 thing about a trap is you often don't know you're 00:07:08.949 --> 00:07:12.870 in a trap until it's too late. It doesn't feel 00:07:12.870 --> 00:07:15.629 like a trap. It actually just feels like common 00:07:15.629 --> 00:07:17.350 sense or it feels like you're just having some 00:07:17.350 --> 00:07:20.509 thoughts. I wonder why the owner gave them a 00:07:20.509 --> 00:07:22.660 bit more money than me. I wonder why. was so 00:07:22.660 --> 00:07:26.100 generous to them my wonder I wonder but pretty 00:07:26.100 --> 00:07:31.259 soon those wonderings turn into a trap and all 00:07:31.259 --> 00:07:33.920 sorts of bad things then start to happen as a 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:37.040 result and the first thing that happens is that 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:41.740 we lose our joy that's what comparison does it 00:07:41.740 --> 00:07:44.379 steals our joy in fact Teddy Roosevelt said that 00:07:44.379 --> 00:07:49.100 comparison is the thief of joy and it's true 00:07:49.100 --> 00:07:51.759 it's true in this story at the beginning of the 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:54.439 story the workers were happy hey they got hired 00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:56.500 all these people were hanging out looking for 00:07:56.500 --> 00:07:58.959 work and they got hired yay for us and we're 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:01.819 getting a good wage yay for us out into the field 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:04.899 they went no complaints no issues everyone's 00:08:04.899 --> 00:08:08.639 happy but by the end of the day Nobody's happy. 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:11.220 They're all grumbling. They're grumbling. Why? 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:14.120 Where did the joy go? How did the joy disappear? 00:08:14.300 --> 00:08:18.740 It disappeared when they started comparing. Suddenly, 00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:22.860 what had been enough is now no longer enough. 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:25.939 And again, this isn't so much about them as it 00:08:25.939 --> 00:08:28.379 is about us. So let's look inside and say, God, 00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:33.440 search me, right? Search me. I even think about 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:35.399 myself. You know, I'm perfectly happy with my 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:38.679 own home until I see my sister's newly renovated 00:08:38.679 --> 00:08:43.730 kitchen. Or I'm very happy about a vacation that 00:08:43.730 --> 00:08:46.429 I went on until I see pictures that somebody 00:08:46.429 --> 00:08:50.289 else posted from their vacation. It is almost 00:08:50.289 --> 00:08:53.250 impossible to be grateful on the one hand and 00:08:53.250 --> 00:08:57.350 compare on the other hand. Because gratitude 00:08:57.350 --> 00:09:00.509 says, hey, look what God has given me. And comparison 00:09:00.509 --> 00:09:02.610 is like, well, look what God has given them. 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:07.000 you focus on each of these it kind of grows if 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:11.259 you focus on gratitude then eventually it gratitude 00:09:11.259 --> 00:09:14.320 grows but if you focus on comparing your gratitude 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:18.139 shrinks your joy evaporates and it's not because 00:09:18.139 --> 00:09:20.620 anything has changed in your life it's just because 00:09:20.620 --> 00:09:23.629 you started comparing that's the first thing 00:09:23.629 --> 00:09:26.090 the comparison trap does but the second thing 00:09:26.090 --> 00:09:30.350 the trap does is it ruins relationships and we 00:09:30.350 --> 00:09:33.289 see this pattern all through the bible right 00:09:33.289 --> 00:09:37.149 saul and david comparison led to competition 00:09:37.149 --> 00:09:41.350 which led to violence or cain and abel right 00:09:41.350 --> 00:09:45.289 comparison ultimately leads to murder and why 00:09:45.289 --> 00:09:48.570 does that happen it's because when you compare 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:53.299 That other person ceases to be a person and becomes 00:09:53.299 --> 00:09:57.279 a competitor, right? You see them now as competition. 00:09:58.299 --> 00:10:01.460 In our story, there's no doubt in my mind that 00:10:01.460 --> 00:10:05.159 all those workers now... started to have a broken 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:07.399 and ruined relationship with the landowner and 00:10:07.399 --> 00:10:09.500 the foreman they don't like them but but now 00:10:09.500 --> 00:10:13.080 my hunch is as they look at each other it's probably 00:10:13.080 --> 00:10:16.340 also broken the relationships of the whole work 00:10:16.340 --> 00:10:18.559 crew because think about it if you were working 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:21.259 all day for a certain amount of money and you're 00:10:21.259 --> 00:10:23.259 standing beside the person who worked one hour 00:10:23.259 --> 00:10:25.559 and got the same amount of money that i'm sure 00:10:25.559 --> 00:10:28.440 there were a few looks I'm sure there was a few 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:31.240 sideways glances and comments under your breath. 00:10:31.340 --> 00:10:34.899 Oh, it must be nice. Hmm, interesting, right? 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:38.980 Under the breath comments. But again, it's not 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:40.679 about them. What we want to focus on is ourselves 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:44.500 here. So let's ask, God, search me. Right now, 00:10:44.519 --> 00:10:46.759 God, search me. Do I ever struggle with this? 00:10:46.820 --> 00:10:51.120 Do I ever find it hard to celebrate someone else's 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:55.059 success? Does it bother me when things are going 00:10:55.059 --> 00:10:58.580 well for them? When I see it, say someone else 00:10:58.580 --> 00:11:01.659 gets recognized, instead of drawing me closer 00:11:01.659 --> 00:11:03.639 to that person, does it push me further away 00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:05.919 from them? That's what happens with comparison. 00:11:06.019 --> 00:11:11.000 Over time, it erodes our relationships. But thirdly, 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:14.639 the comparison trap distracts us from Jesus. 00:11:15.389 --> 00:11:18.210 At the beginning of the story Jesus told, all 00:11:18.210 --> 00:11:21.370 right, all the workers' eyes were on the landowner, 00:11:21.490 --> 00:11:24.309 on their master. The master was the one who hired 00:11:24.309 --> 00:11:26.009 them. The master was the one who called them. 00:11:26.049 --> 00:11:28.330 The master was the one who sent them. The master 00:11:28.330 --> 00:11:30.629 was the one who made the promise to pay them. 00:11:30.730 --> 00:11:33.070 It was all about the master, all eyes on the 00:11:33.070 --> 00:11:36.029 master. But by the end of the story, nobody's 00:11:36.029 --> 00:11:38.389 looking at the master anymore. Now they're looking 00:11:38.389 --> 00:11:42.320 around at each other. They've lost sight. of 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:45.899 the relationship that they had with their boss. 00:11:46.980 --> 00:11:50.379 And I know this is a different story, but I think 00:11:50.379 --> 00:11:52.940 of, in John's gospel, the story of Mary and Martha. 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:57.960 Maybe you know that one, but Martha cannot focus 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:01.500 on Jesus. Why can't she? Because she's too busy 00:12:01.500 --> 00:12:04.139 focusing on her sister and worrying about her. 00:12:04.220 --> 00:12:07.259 Lord, don't you care that my sister has left 00:12:07.259 --> 00:12:10.759 me to do all this work by myself? She's literally 00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:13.460 in the same room as Jesus, but she's not looking 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:15.940 at Jesus. She's looking instead at her sister 00:12:15.940 --> 00:12:21.200 Mary. Now again, let's look into our own hearts. 00:12:21.259 --> 00:12:26.000 God, search me here. Do I come to church, but 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:29.559 I'm just so distracted by comparing my life to 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:32.799 others? Am I serving or volunteering maybe at 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:37.059 church, but actually I spend all my time... distracted 00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:39.279 because I'm wondering why other people aren't 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:42.700 also helping out and serving. Or in worship, 00:12:42.759 --> 00:12:46.259 when I'm here and I'm singing, am I paying more 00:12:46.259 --> 00:12:48.320 attention to Jesus or am I paying more attention 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:51.340 to the people around me? See, what comparison 00:12:51.340 --> 00:12:55.559 does is it creates a distraction and you're no 00:12:55.559 --> 00:12:58.799 longer having your eyes fixed on your master, 00:12:58.899 --> 00:13:02.450 Jesus. And that brings us to the last thing the 00:13:02.450 --> 00:13:04.669 comparison trap will do to us. And I think this 00:13:04.669 --> 00:13:07.830 could be the most serious. And that is it starts 00:13:07.830 --> 00:13:10.470 to change how we think about God. Starts to change 00:13:10.470 --> 00:13:15.450 how we see God, right? It distorts God's character 00:13:15.450 --> 00:13:19.230 in our mind. Here's what I mean. At first, in 00:13:19.230 --> 00:13:22.169 the very beginning. Everybody thought the landowner 00:13:22.169 --> 00:13:25.110 was great, right? He's generous, he's kind, he 00:13:25.110 --> 00:13:27.149 hired them, but by the end of the story, now 00:13:27.149 --> 00:13:30.909 they're not so sure. Maybe he's not generous. 00:13:31.269 --> 00:13:33.990 Maybe he's actually unfair. And this is what 00:13:33.990 --> 00:13:40.429 comparison does. It twists how you see God. Because 00:13:40.429 --> 00:13:42.429 you used to think that God was a God of grace, 00:13:42.490 --> 00:13:44.049 but now it appears that God is a God of inequality? 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:46.960 Or you used to think that God was a God of generosity, 00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:49.220 but now it appears God is a God of injustice. 00:13:49.460 --> 00:13:53.840 And you start to say things, huh, maybe God is 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:56.519 actually playing favorites. Search your own hearts 00:13:56.519 --> 00:13:58.679 on this one, people. Do you ever find yourself 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:01.320 saying, hmm, I think God might be holding out 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:03.840 on me. Or I don't think God is being fair here. 00:14:04.059 --> 00:14:08.019 Or I actually question God's goodness. Why would 00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:11.000 he do that for them and not for me? Do you see 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:14.919 why this is so serious? So serious, because when 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:17.580 you compare, it's not just affecting your identity, 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:21.120 it's affecting your theology. It's affecting 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:25.840 how you view God. So comparison, what does it 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:28.799 do? It steals joy, ruins relationships, distracts 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:32.299 us from Jesus, and distorts God's character in 00:14:32.299 --> 00:14:34.940 our eyes. Now, before we go any further, I just 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:38.419 want to come clean and be honest with you. And 00:14:38.419 --> 00:14:40.679 that is to say that I actually struggle a lot 00:14:40.679 --> 00:14:43.159 with this myself. And you may not know this about 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:47.980 clergy, but clergy are the worst, the absolute 00:14:47.980 --> 00:14:52.519 worst when it comes. to comparing i mean you 00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:54.799 put a couple clergy in the room and it is not 00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:56.639 long before they're like well how many people 00:14:56.639 --> 00:14:58.840 did you have at church on sunday or how many 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:00.840 programs do you have or how many kids do you 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:03.940 have in in your sunday school i know clergy i 00:15:03.940 --> 00:15:06.240 guarantee i know clergy that within five minutes 00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:08.919 of me striking up a conversation with them they 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:11.340 are going to ask what was what's your average 00:15:11.340 --> 00:15:14.500 sunday attendance right and it it's it's just 00:15:14.500 --> 00:15:17.860 something that we're really really bad at i want 00:15:17.860 --> 00:15:21.600 to tell you Last Sunday was Easter Sunday, and 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:24.440 I left here, I was feeling great. It was on top 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:26.740 of the world. It was so encouraging, all that 00:15:26.740 --> 00:15:29.820 we did last Easter Sunday. I was grateful for 00:15:29.820 --> 00:15:32.429 what God was doing at Trinity. And then we went 00:15:32.429 --> 00:15:36.090 to visit some of our family on my wife's side. 00:15:36.169 --> 00:15:38.389 And I have to tell you that there are three or 00:15:38.389 --> 00:15:41.789 four clergy in that family on my wife's side. 00:15:41.889 --> 00:15:44.409 And so we got there for lunch and one thing leads 00:15:44.409 --> 00:15:47.649 to another and we start talking shop. Oh, you 00:15:47.649 --> 00:15:50.029 know, how was your Sunday morning? What did you 00:15:50.029 --> 00:15:53.470 guys do? How many people were there? Blah, blah, 00:15:53.470 --> 00:15:55.570 blah, blah, blah. And pretty sure I could feel 00:15:55.570 --> 00:15:59.509 it, folks. I could feel the joy evaporating. 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:04.100 I could feel the distance growing between me 00:16:04.100 --> 00:16:07.740 and my in -laws and their families because of 00:16:07.740 --> 00:16:09.659 this sense of competition. I'm just being honest. 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:12.120 Competition building up within me. And I could 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:16.340 feel even this breakdown of my picture of God 00:16:16.340 --> 00:16:20.539 because now my focus had been pulled away from 00:16:20.539 --> 00:16:23.419 all the things that God had done that very morning. 00:16:23.740 --> 00:16:26.139 So I just want to let you know, God searched 00:16:26.139 --> 00:16:29.649 my heart. on this and god search your heart on 00:16:29.649 --> 00:16:31.970 this because if that's what comparison does to 00:16:31.970 --> 00:16:36.549 us then we have got to get rid of it now how 00:16:36.549 --> 00:16:39.490 do we get rid of it well let's pivot to the cleanup 00:16:39.490 --> 00:16:42.850 plan the first way i want to say that we can 00:16:42.850 --> 00:16:48.090 get rid of comparison is to guard our gaze, to 00:16:48.090 --> 00:16:52.210 watch what we're watching. Comparison does not 00:16:52.210 --> 00:16:55.190 just start in the heart. It actually starts with 00:16:55.190 --> 00:16:58.809 what we see. And it has always been this way. 00:16:58.830 --> 00:17:00.789 You go back to the Garden of Eden. This is how 00:17:00.789 --> 00:17:03.909 the very first sin began. It started with what 00:17:03.909 --> 00:17:07.710 Eve saw. She saw... of all the different trees 00:17:07.710 --> 00:17:09.450 and all the different fruits. She saw this one. 00:17:09.730 --> 00:17:12.650 She compared them. She saw this one and it looked 00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:15.230 so good. And so that was the one that she had 00:17:15.230 --> 00:17:19.190 to have. And as a result, you know what happened. 00:17:19.250 --> 00:17:22.529 The joy got sucked out of that situation. Relationships 00:17:22.529 --> 00:17:25.289 with God and others were ruined and God's image 00:17:25.289 --> 00:17:28.049 was, it was not a good scene. And that's the 00:17:28.049 --> 00:17:32.130 way it works. It all starts with seeing. In the 00:17:32.130 --> 00:17:35.450 parable, Jesus told it all began with seeing. 00:17:35.789 --> 00:17:39.890 right when those who were hired first saw when 00:17:39.890 --> 00:17:42.529 they saw what was happening that's when everything 00:17:42.529 --> 00:17:45.769 started to fall apart because what goes into 00:17:45.769 --> 00:17:51.079 your eyes ends up in your heart And we have to 00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:52.720 acknowledge this. I'm going to take a minute 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:55.859 just to point this out. That we live in a time 00:17:55.859 --> 00:17:58.019 and a place right now where we are constantly 00:17:58.019 --> 00:18:02.259 seeing things that are twisting and cluttering 00:18:02.259 --> 00:18:04.660 up our hearts, right? Every time you open up 00:18:04.660 --> 00:18:07.200 your phone, you're stepping into a comparison 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:09.920 environment. You're seeing other people's homes, 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:12.039 other people's vacations, other people's families, 00:18:12.140 --> 00:18:14.339 other people's successes, other people's perfect 00:18:14.339 --> 00:18:16.279 moments. And we know they're not really perfect 00:18:16.279 --> 00:18:18.740 moments. We know that they've used a filter and 00:18:18.740 --> 00:18:21.799 it's cured. and it's edited. I mean, nobody ever 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:24.160 posts a picture of like their worst day. Hey, 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:26.099 here's a picture of my kids melting down in the 00:18:26.099 --> 00:18:28.940 grocery store. Or, you know, here's me fighting 00:18:28.940 --> 00:18:32.819 with my spouse, right? No, it's here's me. Here's 00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:36.140 my best moments of my life. And we compare our 00:18:36.140 --> 00:18:38.619 ordinary life with these curated best moments 00:18:38.619 --> 00:18:41.519 of their life. And it kills us inside. it does 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:43.500 there is actually you probably heard about this 00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:47.099 a couple weeks a court case right meta instagram 00:18:47.099 --> 00:18:51.180 snapchat were found guilty they're probably going 00:18:51.180 --> 00:18:53.140 to overturn this because they got the money but 00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:56.259 they're found guilty of ruining people's lives 00:18:56.259 --> 00:19:00.779 often ruining teenagers lives and it's not Because 00:19:00.779 --> 00:19:02.920 of screen time. I mean, that's bad. It's really 00:19:02.920 --> 00:19:07.000 because of comparison time. It's comparison exposure. 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:10.859 And one witness in the case actually said that 00:19:10.859 --> 00:19:14.200 the problem was that she was continuously comparing 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:17.920 herself to others and she used beauty filters 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:21.180 to enhance her appearance. End quote. This is, 00:19:21.220 --> 00:19:24.099 the more that we stare at that thing, the more 00:19:24.099 --> 00:19:27.480 we passively scroll through that thing. we are 00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:31.240 just sucked into the comparison vortex. Proverbs 00:19:31.240 --> 00:19:35.880 4 says, above all else, guard your heart. Everything 00:19:35.880 --> 00:19:38.240 flows from there. And one of the primary ways 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:40.019 we have to guard our heart is by guarding our 00:19:40.019 --> 00:19:43.079 gaze. And that might mean definitely limiting 00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:46.079 the amount of time you spend on these platforms. 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:48.940 It might mean offloading these apps once and 00:19:48.940 --> 00:19:51.279 for all, like not just for a week, but taking 00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:54.079 a permanent break. Maybe it means unfollowing 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:56.779 some of those... you know, whatever, the accounts 00:19:56.779 --> 00:19:59.299 that are constantly triggering you on this, but 00:19:59.299 --> 00:20:02.000 guarding our gaze. That has got to be step one 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:06.140 in beating comparison, the cleanup plan. But 00:20:06.140 --> 00:20:10.299 step two, this is a tough one, but I think what 00:20:10.299 --> 00:20:12.900 we need to do is start celebrating others. It 00:20:12.900 --> 00:20:15.440 sounds easy, but I think it's the hardest of 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:18.160 them all because our instinct when we compare 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:22.279 is always to not celebrate, it's to compete. 00:20:23.400 --> 00:20:25.599 But the Bible has a completely different idea 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:29.359 for us. Paul says, rejoice with those who rejoice. 00:20:30.220 --> 00:20:32.319 Rejoice with that coworker who got the promotion 00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:34.180 even though you were secretly hoping it might 00:20:34.180 --> 00:20:37.180 go to you. Rejoice with someone who announces 00:20:37.180 --> 00:20:39.440 an engagement even though you're still waiting 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:41.660 for that moment. Rejoice when your classmates 00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:45.079 gets the award and you don't. And even as I'm 00:20:45.079 --> 00:20:47.180 saying this, I know what I'm saying is super, 00:20:47.259 --> 00:20:50.299 super, super hard. But just imagine in our story 00:20:50.299 --> 00:20:52.319 what would have happened if instead of those 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:55.259 workers, of grumbling and disagreeing. If they 00:20:55.259 --> 00:20:57.539 had looked at the others who were treated so 00:20:57.539 --> 00:21:00.759 generously and they said, wow, gosh, man, good 00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:04.079 for you. I'm happy for you. God is so generous. 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:08.700 Look how generous he is. Comparison always says, 00:21:08.740 --> 00:21:13.019 oh, why them and why not me? But celebration 00:21:13.019 --> 00:21:17.299 says, thank you, God. Thank you for what you're 00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:22.289 doing in their life. right celebrating others 00:21:22.289 --> 00:21:25.450 is actually a sure way to break the power of 00:21:25.450 --> 00:21:27.369 comparison because what are you really celebrating 00:21:27.369 --> 00:21:30.309 you're actually celebrating what god is doing 00:21:30.309 --> 00:21:33.369 in the life of that person and therefore you're 00:21:33.369 --> 00:21:38.630 aligning your own heart with god's heart and 00:21:38.630 --> 00:21:41.690 that's a great way to clean up comparison so 00:21:41.690 --> 00:21:46.390 why not tell someone this week that you are genuinely 00:21:46.390 --> 00:21:51.160 happy for them Pray a blessing over someone who's 00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:55.460 just had a success of some sort. Thank God out 00:21:55.460 --> 00:21:58.960 loud for what he's doing in their life. And I 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:02.359 know, do it even if you're not feeling it just 00:22:02.359 --> 00:22:05.660 yet. Maybe that will push you past the line, 00:22:05.819 --> 00:22:09.200 okay? That's our cleanup plan. The third part 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:11.000 of our cleanup plan isn't just to guard our gaze 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:14.039 and celebrate others, but to be grateful for 00:22:14.039 --> 00:22:19.619 what we have. See, comparison always shifts your 00:22:19.619 --> 00:22:22.640 focus from what God has given you to what God 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:24.500 has given someone else. So the antidote seems 00:22:24.500 --> 00:22:27.119 quite simple. Let's just be more grateful for 00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:30.960 the things God has given us. Paul writes, isn't 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:33.819 everything you have and everything you are sheer 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:36.619 gifts from God? So what's the point of all this 00:22:36.619 --> 00:22:39.000 comparing and competing? You already have everything 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:43.410 you need. In other words, Everything you have 00:22:43.410 --> 00:22:45.730 is a gift. Your life, your abilities, your opportunities, 00:22:46.069 --> 00:22:48.289 your relationships. You didn't earn any of it. 00:22:48.349 --> 00:22:51.410 It was all given to you. So be grateful for that. 00:22:52.170 --> 00:22:55.890 Those first workers, they received a good wage. 00:22:56.289 --> 00:22:58.849 But it was the comparison that made them ungrateful. 00:22:59.230 --> 00:23:02.250 And we do this. I know. We all do this. We pray 00:23:02.250 --> 00:23:04.509 for a job, but then we resent the job. Or we 00:23:04.509 --> 00:23:07.089 pray for a relationship, but then when we get 00:23:07.089 --> 00:23:08.789 the relationship, we take the relationship for 00:23:08.789 --> 00:23:12.359 granted. The Bible says it is just better to 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:17.140 be satisfied with what you have than to be always 00:23:17.140 --> 00:23:21.859 wanting something else. Gratitude, it might look 00:23:21.859 --> 00:23:24.980 like you starting your day with thanksgiving, 00:23:25.099 --> 00:23:28.099 the first words out of your mouth, or ending 00:23:28.099 --> 00:23:29.819 your day. Maybe you've got a journal and you 00:23:29.819 --> 00:23:32.059 jot down some things throughout that day that 00:23:32.059 --> 00:23:35.359 you're particularly grateful for, right? Comparison 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:37.079 says, hey, look at all the things you don't have. 00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:40.109 But gratitude says, look at what God has already 00:23:40.109 --> 00:23:44.190 given me. Whichever voice you listen to is going 00:23:44.190 --> 00:23:47.549 to shape your heart. Okay, the fourth part of 00:23:47.549 --> 00:23:52.950 our cleanup plan is to trust. To trust God when 00:23:52.950 --> 00:23:56.589 life seems unfair. When we see others getting 00:23:56.589 --> 00:23:59.670 something and we are not, there's something in 00:23:59.670 --> 00:24:01.650 us that says that's not fair. God, you made a 00:24:01.650 --> 00:24:03.970 mistake. God, you screwed up here. God, you didn't 00:24:03.970 --> 00:24:07.549 divide things up properly. God, what's going 00:24:07.549 --> 00:24:10.660 on, right? And that's what happens in our story. 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:13.119 They're complaining. They're saying, hey, these 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:16.720 guys were only hired one hour. God, you've made 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:18.500 a mistake. You can hear it in their voice. It's 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:20.759 not just about comparison. This is about protest, 00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:23.700 right? They're saying, it's not fair. You made 00:24:23.700 --> 00:24:27.099 a mistake. You need to rethink this, God. But 00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:29.200 the landowner says, no, no, I'm not being unfair. 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:32.319 I'm not being unfair. I know what I'm doing. 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:35.359 I know what I'm, you may not know what I'm doing, 00:24:35.400 --> 00:24:38.059 but I know what I'm doing. So let's be honest. 00:24:38.519 --> 00:24:43.519 Do I trust God even when it looks like his plan 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:45.279 for somebody else is better than his plan for 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:49.099 me? Do I trust that he actually knows what he 00:24:49.099 --> 00:24:54.480 is doing even when it doesn't feel like it? You 00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:57.539 know, Isaiah says, My thoughts are not your thoughts. 00:24:58.039 --> 00:25:01.299 Neither are my ways your ways, declares the Lord. 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:05.539 So clearing out comparison means choosing to 00:25:05.539 --> 00:25:08.559 trust God's goodness, even if we don't understand 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:10.440 it, even if it doesn't seem to make sense, even 00:25:10.440 --> 00:25:12.380 if it doesn't seem fair. It might mean praying, 00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:15.160 God, I don't understand this. It doesn't seem 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:17.359 right to me, but God, I actually know you've 00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:22.039 got a bigger view, and I trust that you are good. 00:25:23.950 --> 00:25:27.210 And that brings us to the final part of our cleanup 00:25:27.210 --> 00:25:32.089 plan. And that is to keep focused on God's plan 00:25:32.089 --> 00:25:38.599 for you. Comparison. Right it always wants to 00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:40.680 pull you out of your lane It's like you're driving 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:42.619 down the road and if you're looking straight 00:25:42.619 --> 00:25:44.339 ahead of you you're fine But if you start looking 00:25:44.339 --> 00:25:47.279 at the cars over there pretty soon you're drifting 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:49.559 out of your lane and you're in their lane and 00:25:49.559 --> 00:25:51.660 now you're actually Following them and you're 00:25:51.660 --> 00:25:53.940 not actually paying attention to where it is. 00:25:54.039 --> 00:25:58.440 You're supposed to be going Right? All the workers 00:25:58.440 --> 00:26:01.039 in this story were called into the vineyard. 00:26:01.099 --> 00:26:03.339 They were all given a job. They all had a purpose. 00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:05.859 They all had a part to play. But by the end of 00:26:05.859 --> 00:26:08.799 the day, everybody was focused on everybody else's 00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:10.500 work. Well, I got a lot. What did you get? Well, 00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:12.359 I got a little. What did you get? Right? And 00:26:12.359 --> 00:26:17.700 God is like, everybody, take your pay. You, you 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:21.019 got something. You did something. Take it and 00:26:21.019 --> 00:26:25.819 go. Stay focused on what it is I've given to 00:26:25.819 --> 00:26:30.960 you. The Bible says, let us run with perseverance 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:35.700 the race marked out for, and say it with me, 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:39.579 us, right? Not the race marked out for someone 00:26:39.579 --> 00:26:42.759 else. God has given you a race. God has given 00:26:42.759 --> 00:26:46.140 you gifts and opportunity and a calling. And 00:26:46.140 --> 00:26:48.539 if you compare all the time, you are going to 00:26:48.539 --> 00:26:54.809 abandon your assignment. Right? God isn't messing 00:26:54.809 --> 00:26:57.690 around with your life. The psalmist says, all 00:26:57.690 --> 00:27:00.390 the days ordained for me were written in your 00:27:00.390 --> 00:27:04.390 book, God, before one of them came to be. God's 00:27:04.390 --> 00:27:06.690 got a plan for your life. He's got specific days. 00:27:06.789 --> 00:27:09.230 He's got specific opportunities, a specific calling. 00:27:09.589 --> 00:27:12.589 So why not pray instead, God, what is your plan 00:27:12.589 --> 00:27:15.970 for me? Not for them, right? God, what is your 00:27:15.970 --> 00:27:17.910 plan for me? Your purpose for me? Where are you 00:27:17.910 --> 00:27:21.500 calling me? The most freeing thing that we could 00:27:21.500 --> 00:27:26.579 do is to stop trying to live someone else's life 00:27:26.579 --> 00:27:30.460 and start faithfully living the one that God 00:27:30.460 --> 00:27:34.000 has given us. So that's the cleanup plan, right? 00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:37.460 Guard your gaze, celebrate others, practice gratitude, 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:42.200 trust God, and stay in your lane. Stay focused 00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:46.559 on God's plan for you. But I want to end, if 00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:47.940 you don't mind, I just want to share my favorite 00:27:47.940 --> 00:27:50.000 part of this whole story. My favorite verse is 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:56.420 right here in verse 12. The workers say to God, 00:27:56.559 --> 00:28:00.720 wait a second, God, you've made them equal to 00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:05.099 us. And God, I think, essentially says, yeah, 00:28:05.299 --> 00:28:11.420 I kind of did. And that's the point. The kingdom 00:28:11.420 --> 00:28:14.509 of God is not built on... fairness and everyone 00:28:14.509 --> 00:28:17.470 kind of equal. It's built on grace. Nobody stands 00:28:17.470 --> 00:28:21.569 before God and says, I worked harder. I did more. 00:28:21.690 --> 00:28:24.950 I deserve a bigger reward from you, God. Because 00:28:24.950 --> 00:28:29.690 everything we receive from God is a gift. And 00:28:29.690 --> 00:28:31.990 at the cross, there's no first place Christians, 00:28:32.170 --> 00:28:34.089 second place Christians, third place Christians, 00:28:34.150 --> 00:28:37.630 right? There's just people. People who have received 00:28:37.630 --> 00:28:41.470 mercy. And yeah, some people come early and some 00:28:41.470 --> 00:28:43.920 people come late. Some people have been coming 00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:45.900 to church for decades and others are here for 00:28:45.900 --> 00:28:49.500 the first time today. But guess what? At the 00:28:49.500 --> 00:28:55.680 cross, we all receive the same grace. You don't 00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:58.039 have to compare. You don't have to compete because 00:28:58.039 --> 00:29:02.599 nobody earns God's love. It's just given to all 00:29:02.599 --> 00:29:07.339 of us. Nobody gets what they deserve. We all 00:29:07.339 --> 00:29:14.099 get God's grace and mercy for free. So, God, 00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:21.480 search me and know my heart. Test me and know 00:29:21.480 --> 00:29:25.599 my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive 00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:29.559 way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. 00:29:30.579 --> 00:29:34.109 Amen. Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode 00:29:34.109 --> 00:29:37.309 of Trinity Sermons. This week's sermon was recorded 00:29:37.309 --> 00:29:40.089 at Trinity Church Streetsville in Mississauga, 00:29:40.150 --> 00:29:43.250 Ontario on April 12th, 2026.