Focus

If you stand in once place for too long, you'll start to notice your surroundings.

Think, for a moment, of a person who stands in a field alone. She looks around and sees the sky above, the ground below. She sees grass, trees, flowers.
Her surroundings.

Take this into the spiritual.
Now imagine this girl again.
This girl is running...running a race so that she can win a great prize.
If she remains focused on pressing and running steadily toward the mark, she won't take notice of the people who are getting ahead of her or the people behind her. She sees the mark. She runs for the mark with all her might and strength...with all her heart.
However, if she paused for a moment in her mind and noticed that she were first in the race, she may get smug, arrogant, or even comfortable with the pace she ran and not attempt to push any further.
Right when she got comfortable, someone would come from behind her, take first place, and win her prize.
She'd be devastated.

Think about this:
Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 9.
^"24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! ²⁵ All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. ²⁶ So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing."

We are all pressing toward the mark of the high calling of Christ...we're not pressing for a crown or a medal or even money that could last us a lifetime.
We press for something much more valuable than that.
However, we, as Believers, tend to get comfortable with the level we are on in Christ.
And the moment we get comfortable with our level and stop focusing and pressing toward the mark, we begin to look at our surroundings. We may begin to notice that some of our friends aren't making the same sacrifices that we make, or we notice that some of the people we see at school in passing are simply not doing the same things we do.
We notice that we are doing much more to better our lives and that we are making so many sacrifices and what-have-you, all so that we can be closer to Christ.
The moment we take our eyes off of Christ, we begin to get smug in our own lives.
We begin to think that we are better than those who don't make the sacrifices that we do.
Arrogance sets in, and this can be for a few days or for many years.
But at some point, God always has a way of humbling us and letting us know that we are no better than the next person.
[Romans 3:23 - For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.]
Sometimes, God sees that we've become arrogant, and just like He prevented Moses from entering the Promised Land because of his arrogance, he chastises us today for ours.

That was just something that God laid on my heart to say.
I pray that someone takes this and really applies it.
I leave you with this:

1 Corinthians 9 says,
^"22 When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. ²³ I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings."

When you see someone who may not be at the same level in their walk with Christ as you are, be careful not to become too pretentious.
Pray for them. Love them.
You were there once, too, until someone prayed for and loved you.