It's a tactic the enemy is always on the prowl with. It can get in our heads; eat away at us. It can make us feel unnoticed, useless, inferior, even ungifted.
But that's a big lie.
Do not give the devil a way to defeat you.
Ephesians 4:27
One way I find very useful to deal with comparison, is to look at the bigger picture. What does comparing myself or my abilities to somebody else do for the Kingdom? It does absolutely nothing. It doesn't help anybody or anything except tear yourself apart inside and drive you mad. You are your own person. You're not ever going to be the person to the right or left of you because you were designed uniquely to be YOU! And if you're trying to make yourself more like another, who will play you? Or if you're trying so hard to be better than somebody else, you're striving and that tells the world you are not at rest in your heart. I once read in a book that a woman in Christ does not "strive." A woman in Christ is at rest her heart because she knows who she is in Jesus.
Don't get me wrong; it's not wrong to want to improve yourself and try harder. But if you do, do it for you. Don't do it in a competitive spirit to try and out-do somebody else. You are uniquely you and in the eyes of God, you are equal with that exact person you are comparing yourself against. He loves you both equally; you're both his child. The world needs you to be you. God needs you to be you. He needs you so he can lead you in his ways to fulfill the purpose he has for your life. Your very own distinct purpose that was designed for you before you were even born.
I definitely understand comparison can be one of the biggest mountains to climb. It reoccurs in my life from time to time. It takes prayer and consistency to keep it away, and when I do that, it really does. I won't let the enemy get in my head and make me look down upon myself. I won't allow him to make me feel inferior. There's a reason God did not make anybody the same. There's no other Ariel Christine like me and there is no other person like you. No matter how similar we may get at times, it's not worth the comparison and competition because for a fact, we are different. And we are all called to the same body for the same purpose. Remember, what eternal purpose does comparing yourself with another do for the Kingdom? Nothing good. There's a world out there in need of light. If we are to spend our time dwelling on our jealousies and resentment of one another, we are simply misusing our time. A kingdom divided against itself cannot go forward. We need to be united and have our eyes set rightly upon Jesus.
My suggestion: Try praying to have genuine love in your heart for the people you compare yourself to. Pray not that you would be envious and jealous of them, but genuinely excited for the great abilities and opportunities God has blessed them with. See them through the eyes of God and think of them as Christ would about His fellow brothers and sisters. Sometimes it just takes a shift in mindset and seeing people through a different light. Besides, you might not see beyond the surface the struggles and valleys others have tread through to get to be where they are at. You just be you and set your eyes on Christ. He is the only One whose opinion of us truly matters.
If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God put all the parts, each one of them, in the body as he wanted them. So then there are many parts, but only one body.
1st Corinthians 12:18-20
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the foot, "I don't need you!" No! Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are really necessary. And the parts of the body we think are less deserving are the parts to which we give the most honor. We give special respect the parts we want to hide. The more respectable parts of our body need no special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that needed it so our body would not be divided. God wanted the different parts to care the same for each other. If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of the body is honored, all the other parts share its honor.
1st Corinthians 12:21-26
Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that body.
1st Corinthians 12:27
I hope this post has encouraged you. As I wrote this, I feel like I am preaching to myself. Have an amazing week! Truly, the best is yet to come.
❤ Ariel Christine
No comments:
Post a Comment