Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done and won’t need to compare himself with someone else. Galatians 6:4 (LB)
Comparison. It’s something we all do and it’s never to our benefit. Either we’re comparing ourselves with someone who is “worse off ” than us so we can feel better about ourselves (this only breeds haughtiness), or we’re comparing to others who are “better off ” than we are so that we can feel bad about ourselves (which fills us with insecurity). Comparison is a lose/lose situation, and is one of the biggest traps by the enemy to keep you dissatisfied with the YOU God created you to be.
I remember being a ten-year-old boy, growing up in Spanaway, and the older boy next door just seemed so cool to me. He had good grades, was a good wrestler, had his letterman’s jacket, and I remember thinking, “Wow. I’ll never be that good. So why even try?” Ten years old! Where did I get that thinking at such a young age? Certainly not from my Father in Heaven. That kind of thinking can only come from the devil. Maybe you can relate.
Comparison will only hold you back. It will make you think, “Hey, I’m doing pretty good. I don’t need to try to go further in my destiny.” Maybe even, “I’ve done my share of good deeds; let someone else meet the needs of that person.” Or on the other spectrum, “I’ll never be able to have a marriage that good, so why don’t I just give up on the one I have now?” Or, “I’ll never be able to reach as many people as the pastor, so why should I attempt to help one?” Again, it’s lose/lose!
You will never be YOU if you’re trying to be someone else. You’ve got to come to believe that YOU are valuable and YOU are enough. Someone else’s “enough” is not a better “enough”. Your level of success isn’t to be compared to another’s, just as theirs is not to be compared with yours. God chose you to live YOUR life. Own that. BE that. Rejoice in who YOU are right here, right now.
BELIEVE IT
Have you been comparing yourself to anyone? Well, stop it! Today, meditate on the areas of your life where you have seen positive growth. Celebrate that and do not compare it with anyone else.
SAY IT
Father, I believe You have made me to be unique. Thank You that You do not compare me to anyone else or expect me to be anyone except me. Help me to love and accept the me You’ve created.
READ IT
Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. 2 Corinthians 10:12 (ESV)
Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another Galatians 5:26 (NLT)
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 (ESV)
