Have you ever noticed the better you get at golf, the fewer shots you actually think are good? I was playing golf the other day and um I hit an approach shot to the green, and the moment I made contact with the ball, I was already disappointed. It barely trickled on the green, and uh I started questioning my my very existence as a human being. Um I kind of got slumped shoulder and kind of kicking rocks around as I slowly kind of made my way up the green, and and I was trying to convince myself that we all fall short of the glory of a tap in. But as I was doing that, the playing partner I was playing with said, Hey man, nice shot. And I was kind of taken aback a little bit because at first I thought he was sarcastic, but then I realized he wasn't. And I smiled and I thanked him. But but in my head, I was thinking, what game are you playing? But then it hit me. He wasn't wrong. From his perspective, it was a great shot. If he did that exact shot, obviously he'd have been thrilled. But because my expectations had changed over the years, I was disappointed. And that's when I realized something. A nice shot is completely relative. The compliment wasn't wrong, we were just using different metrics. Hey, stick around and um I'll tell you what I learned through this experience. Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Shanktification. My name is Mark, and thanks for joining me. Golf has a funny way of doing that, teaching us something on the course. When when we first started playing golf, when I first started playing golf, just just getting the ball airborne felt like a major victory. And then it became breaking 100, and then breaking 90, and then eventually maybe breaking 80. Eventually, a shot that would have made me fist pump five years ago barely earns a shrug today because progress changes our expectations. And and that's a good thing, until it isn't, right? Because sometimes our growing expectations make us forget how far we've actually come. I think we do the same thing in our spiritual lives. We look at someone who's been following Jesus for 30 years and think, man, I'll never be able to pray like that. Or I'll never have the kind of faith that they do, or I'll never be able to memorize that kind of scripture, or I'll just, I'll just never have that much faith. Meanwhile, somebody that's new to following Christ is looking at us saying, Man, I hope my faith is anywhere in the ballpark of them someday. Because again, it's all relative. The danger is that we spend so much time looking at people ahead of us that sometimes we completely miss the people that are behind us, being encouraged by our example. And the Apostle Paul addresses this very thing in 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 12. He says, But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. And man, that is such a strong statement. Paul doesn't say comparison is merely unhelpful, he says it's foolish. And why does he say that? Because comparison gives us the wrong measuring stick. If we compare ourselves to someone further along, we become discouraged. We've been there. But if we compare ourselves to someone struggling more than we are, we become prideful. And we've probably all been there. And neither one of us tells us the truth. Only Christ is the standard. And golf reminds me of this every single round. A scratch golfer can hit one to 20 feet and think, hmm, terrible swing. Meanwhile, a 15 handicap is watching him make that same exact shot, and he's thinking to himself, man, if if if I could just do that once today, I'd be ecstatic. And neither golfer is lying. They're just simply standing in different places. And that's true in life too. Maybe you're frustrated because you aren't where you want to be spiritually. But what if someone who met you five years ago would hardly recognize the person you've become? What if God has been transforming you little by little, but you've been so focused on the next step that you've forgotten to celebrate his faithfulness in the last one? Sometimes we become so aware of what still needs work that we forget to thank God for what he's already done. And there's another side to this observation, too. Maybe someone has told you lately, I really admire blank in you. Or um, I'm really impressed with the way you handle blank. And you think, man, if you only knew how much I still struggle. Of course you do. We all do. But don't dismiss the encouragement. God often uses imperfect people to encourage other imperfect people. And no one is asking us to be perfect. They're simply watching someone who's a few steps further down the path. And and here's what I don't want us to miss. We don't need to lower God's standards. We simply need to stop measuring our lives against everyone else's journey. God isn't asking us to become someone else, He's inviting us to keep becoming more like Christ. And that's a completely different scorecard. So the next time someone tells you, nice shot, maybe just smile, say thank you, and remember, they may be seeing something that you've just become blind to. And the same thing may be happening in your walk with Jesus. Someone else may see God's grace in your life long before you do, because a nice shot is completely relative. And maybe spiritual growth is too. Not because truth changes, but because perspective does. So keep your eyes on Jesus, encourage the people coming behind you, learn from the people ahead of you, and stop letting comparison steal the joy of the progress God has already made in your life. Because the goal was never to become one of them, the goal has always been to become more like him. Hey, my name is Mark. Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. If you would share and subscribe, that would mean the world to me. I appreciate you guys. And till next time, keep chasing better.