Avoiding Comparison
/To be honest, l fall into the temptation of comparison. I can be tempted to gauge my success as a husband, father or pastor on how well I measure up to others. It makes me wonder - Am I really that competitive and jealous of the success of others? Maybe deep down, I want to be unique. Maybe I want people to think I have it all figured out and have an exciting life. But, I know from studying the Bible that there is more to it than that.
The truth is, we all can fall into the temptation of comparing ourselves to others. All of us can battle insecurities that we are not good enough. We can all feel that we aren't measuring up. We all can add the "er" to our lives. We want to be skinnier, smarter, funnier, cooler, taller, richer, cuter, and better than we are.
So, how do we get out of this cycle of comparison? Because, to be honest, I don't think any of us really want to live that way. In the book of Proverbs, Solomon the wisest person in history (next to Jesus), gives us insight into the danger of comparing ourselves to others.
Proverbs 14:30 (NLT)
A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body;
jealousy is like cancer in the bones.
Did you catch that last part? Solomon is telling us that jealousy (which is basically comparison) affects you like cancer affects the body. Comparison will kill your joy, it will kill your peace, it will kill the way you love yourself and others. When we compare ourselves to others, we are playing a game that we will never win. But, Solomon gives us an alternative in the first part of the verse. A peaceful heart.
A peaceful heart is the key to avoiding comparison. A peaceful heart no longer fights who God made you to be and who He created others to be. A peaceful heart focuses on the things you love about yourself and allows you to see others how God sees them. A peaceful heart knows God made you to be you and made everyone in His image. Is it okay to work at being the best version of yourself? Yes, of course! God wants us to have health in every area of our lives.
So, what if we lived a life of avoiding comparisons? What if we learned to catch ourselves when we started to compare ourselves to others? Here are three things that can help to avoid comparison:
1.) Ask yourself - What is the number one way I compare myself to others?
2.) What are 3 things you like about yourself? Write them down and put them around your house where you can see them, so you are reminded who God made you to be.
3.) Ask God to help you see others how He sees them.
Make the conscious decision everyday not to compare yourself to others. I have learned that there is only one person that I should be comparing myself to and that is Jesus. He is the standard that we should all strive for. And with His help, you and I will finally avoid comparison.
Russell