"Tall Poppy Delusions," by a disgruntled daisy.

So, this isn't my finest moment perhaps, but I need to confess something: I am a text book tall poppy cutter-downer. Shocking isn't it! It gets worse, though; nothing makes me want to reach for my rusty secateurs more than talent show videos. I know! I'm awful! But, I really really dislike them. As in, I literally GOL (groan out loud) and roll my eyes when I see them on my FaceBook feed: "Look at little Johnny! He's only 3 and can already recite the entire works of Shakespeare!" Or the A Capella group whose voices were more than likely hand-crafted by God himself, from heavenly spindles of gold and silver threads that adorn the angels' robes. And they all could have stepped out of Next Top Model. And they have PhDs in quantum physics.  

Okay, perhaps I'm not quite that bad, but I cannot deny sometimes turning a slight shade of green when I see the people with skills and talents that far outweigh my own...I believe it might be called Envy?

Envy. Such a horrible word isn't it. Envy is a noun:

a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck.

Envy is also a verb:

desire to have a quality, possession, or other desirable thing belonging to (someone else).

The thing with envy that really gets me, is its ability to lay dormant for so long, and then rear its filthy head when I least expect it. Yes, watching Australia's Got Talent might be one such time, but it also strikes much closer to home, perhaps when a friend achieves something awesome. And even more so when it's something awesome that I have desperately wanted. 

The real trouble with envy is that there is absolutely nothing positive about it:

1. It takes our focus away from God.

2. It distracts us from what we are meant to be doing.

3. It undermines our confidence in our God-appointed abilities.

4. It stirs up resentment between people, possibly destroying friendships.

Envy says, "what you have, am, give, or can do, is not good enough."

Ah yes. There it is. The feeling that my writing, or singing, or art, is not as good as others' and I therefore feel dis-counted from participating.

As with most negative emotions/feelings, if we allow it to grow and fester within us, it will eventually kill the thing associated with it; no more writing, no more singing, no more art. It's not easy to stop though. We live in a time where being "the best" is not just celebrated, but the be-all-and-end-all; just look at the number of TV shows that seek to find "the best" singer, talent, chef, etc. No wonder there is so much pressure on us to perform, to out-perform, to shine brighter than anyone else. 

I have always been one who wanted to be "the best," to the point of not participating for fear of not being the best. But I am coming to realise (yes, still working on this!), that "good" is actually enough. Sure, we can commit to learning and growing and getting better, but ultimately, a "good" story, or song, or photograph, is still worthy of being written, sung or taken! Who is it who determines their worth anyway?! The Simon Cowell's of this world?! Perhaps it has become that way, but I say no more!

I love that when we give our work to God, He takes away the innate need within us to compete with others, and qualifies us for the job. Remember that verse in Colossians 3:23-24:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

You might be feeling like a daisy in a field of tall poppies right now. That's fantastic! Keep on being the beautiful, unique, incredible daisy that God created you to be; you may not be noticed by the masses, but that is okay! You are still contributing to the overall beauty of the field.

Remember that God is the one who gifted you your talents, and He is the one who will reward you for your faithfulness in using them...I just hope there's a shower of glitter confetti when I get my reward in heaven. Glitter confetti is awesome. 

Blessings,

Helen...the slightly less disgruntled daisy 😇