Since I have started here at UK and started in the journalism program here, I have always compared myself to my fellow classmates. I would always see their success and gauge my success by how well my peers were doing. If I wasn't winning journalism awards, then I would take that to mean that I wasn't a good journalist. It wasn't until a few weeks ago when I was at a awards dinner for the journalism school alumni that God spoke to me about the comparison. God said to me "Comparison is an ugly beast." To make sure what I was hearing was God speaking, I went into the Word to find scriptures on the comparison.

The Bible confirmed what I heard. The Bible teaches Christians to not compare ourselves to other people. In 2 Corinthians 10:12 it says " We wouldn't put ourselves in the same class with or compare ourselves to those who are bold enough to make their own recommendations. Certainly, when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves to themselves, they show how foolish they are." In other words, comparing yourselves to others is foolish. So why do we do it? Sometimes we feel like failures and uncertain about our lives to the point that we feel like we're not good enough. It seems like Satan comes in those moments with external reminders of your failures. When Satan shows you things you want through other people having what you want, Satan wants you to feel envy towards them.

Envy is an ugly monster. For example, suppose you want to date a cute girl and one of your guys is dating her. You would feel envious of him, right? You would wonder, "What is so special about him that makes her choose him over me?" After thinking about this a while, your envy seeps down in your soul and destroys every shred of self-confidence you have. See how destructive envy is? In James 3:16, it talks about the destructiveness of envy. James 3:16 says "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice." After reading this, I began to see that envy is destructive. If you are envious of something or someone, it steals the happiness you have and makes you feel terrible.

Looking at these verses, I have begun to realize that comparing myself to other people is not what I should be doing with my life. I know that God has given me the gift of writing well, otherwise, I would never pass my journalism classes. This past week, Satan tried to tell me that I wasn't good enough when a fellow classmate won Reporter of the Year from the Collegiate Associated Press. When I heard that he won, initially I compared myself to him. But as I thought about it and continually prayed about it, I realized that it doesn't matter if I win journalism awards or not. If God lets that happen, then that's great. I can live with the fact that the journalism I write may not be the best. What matters to me is using my journalistic gifts from God to help give back to God and His Kingdom. These gifts I have, I want to serve the Lord with them.

At the end of the day, I am going to compare myself to only one person: Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ walked the earth, sinlessly, and "loved the unlovable." His atoning sacrifice was a further extension of his love for mankind. To honor his sacrifice, I choose to love as Jesus did. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, it says "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." This means we should compare ourselves to Him only and live our lives as Christ did.

I pray that you may find contentment, peace, and love in the Lord. He loves you so much. Reach out to Him. His hands are ready to embrace you.