Am I better than?

Are you better than Thebes that sat along the Nile with water surrounding her, whose rampart was the sea, the river her wall?

Nahum 3:8

Are you better than…? It is a question of comparison. In Nahum 3:8, God was asking the question and the city of Nineveh was the target of the interrogation. The comparison between two great cities of the ancient world is fascinating. Thebes had been a leading and celebrated city in the Egyptian empire for centuries. In fact Thebes seemed to have infinite resources until it was sacked by the Assyrians in the 7^th Century B.C. How does an invincible city fall? The presumed answer from Nineveh would be that Thebes fell because “we” are greater. Based upon the characterization of Assyrian arrogance and treachery, I can imagine a rather smug response. But, in the eyes of God, comparison is dangerous. Certainly the point of God’s question was not to compare two earthly kingdoms. It was to draw attention to the foolishness of comparing human power with the sovereignty of God. Earlier in the book of Nahum, two questions establish a proper perspective: “Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger?”

So, we ask, “Am I tempted to compare? No doubt. If I want to feel better about myself, I compare. If I want to nourish my pride, I seek for an opportunity to compare. If I want to elevate, I look for an opportunity to cast a downward glance. If I want to rely on my own justification rather than celebrate the grace of God, I manufacture a victory in an imaginary competition in my mind. Am I better than? The question can lead down a prideful path. It’s a path that leads in the wrong direction. Instead, I must choose the path that leads back to the cross. My tendency to compare melts away in the presence of the Savior. Paul wrote, “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14) I am who I am by the grace of God.