Comparison is sneaky.
It will wind and twist its way into your heart when you aren’t even aware.
It’ll set up shop, lifting up pieces of your heart and measuring them against someone else’s.
Things that you thought were “good enough” are held to the light and every little flaw becomes an utter failure.
The spirit of comparison is something that I’ve been feeling more and more aware of lately. Instagram has become the place where it feels most prevalent. Comparing others weekend adventures, their perfect pictures of their homes, their dogs, everything has the potential to plant a seed of, “Oh. My [insert item here] didn’t look like that.”
taking a picture f your beautifully arranged food
Proverbs 4 states, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” This has always been used in the context of relationships in my life. Guard your heart from the wrong people, from falling for someone too quickly, keep healthy boundaries in your life.
But what if we are supposed to apply that to everything? Guard your heart from unhealthy things and thoughts, guard your heart against a spirit of comparison.
Your heart is the wellspring of your life. It’s where everything flows in and out from. If comparison gets in there, your heart will suffer. Your well will dry up.
a yellow locked door
Lock the door. Guard your heart and your house. Don’t fall into the pit of comparing yourself and your life against everyone else’s in the world. You are not like everyone else. You do not have a life like everyone else.
The people you feel compelled to compare yourself against are not a threat to your happiness. The people around you, on Instagram, at work, at the grocery store, and their giftings in life, are a blessing. Their gifts and yours will be different from each other, but one is not inferior to the other.
Maybe you’ve been comparing your singing skills with someone on the worship team at church. You may not be able to carry a tune as well as they can, but they may not be as inclined to serve in the nursery like you do. Each of you have a worthy gift that is needed for the body of the church to work and function as it should.
Getting caught up in comparison is the quickest way to lose focus on your goals. When you stop and start looking down at the gifts in your hands, and comparing them to the ones in your neighbors hands, then you stop moving towards what God has for you. What He has for that person on the worship team is vastly different than what He has in store for you, and they’re equally as important and valuable.
In this day and age of technology, social media, and constantly knowing what’s happening in everyone’s lives it can be so easy to forget what your focus is. Don’t get caught up in the game of comparison. Delight in others gifts and in your own. God knew what He was doing when He gave you your gifts and talents. Protect your heart and be vigilant about fighting off the urge to compare, compare, compare.
By Brooke McCown
Port YWAM Kona Communications Staff
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