Monday, October 09, 2006

Piper on the Sin of Comparing

It is unlikely that anyone reading this blog has not already seen Justin Taylor’s posts over at Between Two Worlds. Typically I do not point out posts from the really popular blogs because I figure you have already seen them. However, this time I will make an exception this time. Justin’s recent post on John Piper’s comments on the sinfulness of comparing ourselves with others is a key item for us pastors to read. Drawing from John 21:18-22 and referring to his fellow speakers at the recent Desiring God conference Piper stated:
What is it to you that David Wells has such a comprehensive grasp of the pervasive effects of postmodernism? You follow me.
What is it to you that Voddie Baucham speaks the gospel so powerfully without notes? You follow me.
What is it to you that Tim Keller sees gospel connections with professional life so clearly? You follow me.
What is it to you that Mark Driscoll has the language and the folly of pop culture at his fingertips? You follow me.
What is it to you that Don Carson reads five hundred books a year and combines
pastoral insight with the scholar’s depth and comprehensiveness? You follow me

Failure to grasp this truth is in fact often what leads to the preaching of other men’s sermons as we have discussed here before. It is what leads to envy of others success rather than simply seeking to be faithful in our own calling. This is a particularly good word.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

This post prompted me to go back and re-read I Corinthians 3. Thanks for pointing out this article.

Perry McCall said...

Wow! Thanks for the post and link. I hope to see you Monday at 10:00!!

Gordon said...

This is a great article. When we discover who we are in Christ, and then determine to remain true to that identity, it will keep us from trying to be someone we aren't.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy your articles. It is wonderful and refreshing to see a leader in God's Word who speaks this way.
Keep up the good work. Thanks for the words from Piper also.

Ray Van Neste said...

Perry I will look forward to seeing you. I'd love to say Hi while you're here.

For otehrs, Perry is referring to an upcomign conference here at Union- This coming Monday on how we understand Baptist heritage.
For mroe info see here:
http://www.uu.edu/news/NewsReleases/release.cfm?ID=1092