God made me to be me and you to be you. He LOVES me and you and everyone as we are, and who he would have us become.
That sets up this often-overlooked teaching from God: COMPARING ourselves to others is extremely dangerous.
“By the grace of God, I am what I am.” 1 Corinthians 15:10
That verse carries a sacred responsibility for me and you and everyone to live the life he gave us without being caught in the COMPARISON TRAP (1 Corinthians 7:17).
Here’s an illustration from many years of producing videos:
Two common types of content are: 1) B-ROLL–every single frame shot for the video; and 2) HIGHLIGHT REEL–the “bright and shiny” footage without imperfections.
Since God has gifted and called us all in different ways and shades, we are drawn toward comparing “our set” with what others received. That’s dangerous because we’ll come up short every time, especially if the comparing we do is focused on our “B-ROLL” and their “HIGHLIGHT REEL.” The other danger is feeling superior.
THE SIN QUESTION
We are not sinning when we compare to become “imitators of the faithful” (Hebrews 6:12). WHY? Because we cannot imitate without comparing. But we also cannot consider COMPARING without acknowledging the power of PRIDE. It can steal the show when we seek glory for us and reduce others as threats to our lust for self-magnification.
How do we win our personal COMPARING vs IMITATING tug-of-war? Ask yourself this question:
Do you see the grace of God in others, or do you see your own inferiority (by comparison)?
If the answer is light on GRACE and heavy on INFERIORITY, we are headed for a tumble into negativity and a battle with discouragement.
But don’t panic! Look around to see you have a lot of company and then boldly go to God with your idolatry to repent and ask for his strength to slay Satan’s dragon. God will give you grace to be forgiven and escape from the comparison trap.
The next step is to refuel your soul’s tank with God’s promises and truths that will: 1) Stop the comparing; and 2) Put yourself back on that firm spiritual ground we started with—God made me to be me and you to be you.
I ask God to help me fight off the strong pull toward comparing myself with others and, instead, focus on who he made ME to be and what he would have me do for him and his Kingdom on this side of the Heavenly divide.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
What will you do the next time you’re headed for the COMPARISON TRAP?
“God will complete the work he began in you: “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6
