"I can never live up to them." "He/She's way prettier than I am." "Everybody knows them for being outgoing, but I'm just too normal." All these things contribute to the well known serial killer named, Comparison. No he doesn't kill people physically, but uses the psychological and even spiritual game to manipulate you into thinking that you're never going to be as "enough" as the person being compared with. More importantly though he kills the intangible things that make us love life.
He Kills the Great Mood You Were In. Over Something Temporary.
You know those days where you're just hopping along, having a great time with doing your errands, and you're taking it all in: breathing in that fresh air, taking in the scenery, and what is that? Is that a bluejay??? Oh, the beauty!!! Then you run into that person who you look at as better looking or stronger, etc. And you know what? That just made you go from 100 to 0 real quick, don't it? What to do in that situation? We need to find our worth in something that's eternal and not temporary like looks, strength, or even social status. Those things might seem like they last forever but even Isaiah 40:6 said in the Old Testament regarding beauty as a flower because it fades quickly in the field. So who's to say that their beauty might fade faster than yours will in a few years? Anyway, that's not the point, the point is that why should we let someone else control your mood over something that's not even forever? They're not always going to be beautiful, or strong, or wealthy, you know why? IT ALL FADES AWAY.
So, instead of letting others run our emotions, let's put all our eggs in God's basket, the one who tells us we're worthy of His love, not because of anything we have done or could ever do, but because of who He is. "But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)" Ephesians 2:4-5 NLT
He Can Run Our Lives, and Sometimes We Don't Even Know It.
You ever wonder what drives the big companies to make new and "innovative," ideas such as Apple and Google, or LG and Sony? Of course, you'll say "it's just business," but at the foundation of it our friend, Mr. Com P. Arison, is at work. They say "oh, look! They've got the new OLED screens! How can we be better?" Isn't that what we say to ourselves all the time? "Oh, they have the iPhone X, but I'm going to be the first to get the iPhone XS." (DISCLAIMER: I don't know what the next iPhone is, so just roll with it.) We tell ourselves that we need to be better than the other person, but what if the person we need to be better than is the person you saw in the mirror, yesterday? What good is it to want to be better than someone else? We will spend our whole lives keeping up with the Jones', and we finally get to the top and realize how lonely it is at the top with no where else to go. We look back and realize that we haven't even been living our lives. We gave the steering wheel to Comparison, and he led us to the left when we were supposed to take a right.
Now, how do we get back to where we started? Start by realizing that your life is your life and the past is the past. No one else can live your life for you, and there's no changing the past, so let us move on from that. Look onto the future. What future will you lead? One led by constant comparison and constant striving? Or a future based on serving the one pursues you like people in the world pursue materialistic things? Relentlessly. In Matthew 18, Jesus tells the Parable of the Lost Sheep. He says here that if one sheep out of one-hundred sheep wander away, won't the shepherd go off and look for the one sheep? Here we are the sheep that wander away and Jesus tells us that the Shepherd, himself, will go looking for us. So let's take that U-turn and go back to the Shepherd and find our way back.
How Do We Battle Comparison?
We can battle comparison by ignoring it. I know, I know, "how do you ignore comparison?" Well... We start by knowing who we really are and what we're not. We are NOT what the world says we are. We are NOT the clothes we wear, the people we hang with, the amount of money we earn, or what people say about us. We ARE loved and wanted by a perfect, loving, caring, merciful God and His Son. We ARE perfectly and wonderfully made. We ARE forgiven of our sins if we just confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9). If you haven't made that decision yet to follow Jesus or just want more information on it, copy and paste this link from my church, Newspring Church in South Carolina (https://newspring.cc/salvation), and it will guide you through what salvation is and isn't. If you already have made that decision, then reaffirm what God has told you, put it in your heart, and lock it up, and cherish it. For the Word of God is forever and cannot be taken away from you if you hold it in your heart. The way to battle comparison is to know for sure who we are. Beautiful, perfectly made, and loved. Every. Single. One of us.
Disclaimer: This article is about the negative and destructive comparison, and I'm not saying that comparison is bad in and of itself because comparison can be used to help in some cases, but outside of that it is a devastating force that can ruin lives. Thank you for reading. :)
