Oct 1, 2020
Episode Summary:
In my 30 years in mental health, one of the most prevalent
issues I’ve seen in my office has been not truly knowing our
identity in Christ. So many look to others and their
accomplishments, only to come up short and lacking in the joy
Christ came to give us. Too often we spend our efforts trying to be
better, and in the end, we just carry around a burden we were not
meant to carry. In The Burden of
Better, Heather Creekmore uses her
characteristic humorous style to help us learn how a
comparison-free life leads to joy, peace, and rest. She helps us
understand how “the life of comparison is the old nature, not our
new nature,” and then helps us see how living comparison-free lets
us rest in the joy that is ready for our pursuing. If you’ve
struggled with comparison, and constantly trying to be better (and
who of us hasn’t?), then you’ve tuned in for the right episode.
Today we’re going to be talking about how living a life striving to
become “better” steals our joy, peace, and rest.
In today’s episode, we’re going to talk with Heather Creekmore,
author of “The Burden of Better: How a Comparison
Free Life Leads to Joy, Peace, and Rest”.
Quotables from the episode:
- Too often we don’t realize it but we are enslaved to the
“burden of better.”
- Adam and Eve already had perfect, but Satan convinced them to
sin so they could find “better.”
- Slowly we turn our hearts away from the source of all that is
good and toward the illusion of self-made satisfaction.
- You can’t be fully present in the life God designed for you
when you constantly wonder what life would be like if it were more
like hers.
- Comparison’s ladder has no top rung.
- The concept of “better” is elusive.
- Comparison can turn into a heart of envy.
- Comparison is the opposite of contentment.
- When I’m robbed of peace, joy, and contentment through
comparison, I’m robbed of strength.
- Comparison can become an idol. When we idealize, we
idolize.
- It’s not about you, it’s about me, we convince ourselves.
Comparison is not a big deal, we reason. It’s necessary for my
self-improvement. It doesn’t actually hurt anyone.
- How close can we be to someone who we constantly size up
- In comparing we add on to what God asked of us.
- It doesn’t matter what you think of you. It only matters what
God says of you.
- If the enemy convinces us we are the only ones, he gets us
isolated and powerless.
- If we were perfect, we wouldn’t need a Savior.
- Perfection keeps us trapped by arbitrary measures.
- God’s sustaining grace comes in our suffering.
- Suffering builds character and makes us more like Jesus.
- Are you seeking to be better or are you seeking Jesus?
- The first step in a comparison-free action plan is to practice
gratitude.
Scripture References:
- Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are
surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith,
let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the
sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the
race God as set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus,
the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the
joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now
he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”
- Galatians 6:4-5 “Pay careful attention to your
own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well
done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we
are each responsible for our own conduct.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:10 “But whatever I am now, it
is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not
without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other
apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by
his grace.”
Recommended Resources:
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Podcast
Guest:
Originally an East Coast native, Heather is a pastor’s wife now
living in Austin, Texas. Heather spent over a decade working in
politics and marketing for non-profits before marriage and
children. Now, through her own ministry, Heather speaks and writes
to encourage Christian women who struggle with body image and
comparison. I love her byline that says “Stop comparing.
Start Living.”
Her first book titled “Compared to Who? A Proven Path to Improve
Your Body Image” helps people find new freedom from comparison
struggles. In her free time, Heather homeschools four children,
drives the soccer practice shuttle, makes sometimes edible freezer
meals, competes on Netflix baking shows and breaks grammar rules.
That’s why we’re friends!
Hosted By: Dr. Michelle Bengtson
Audio Technical Support: Bryce Bengtson