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Comparing Apples to Bananas

1 Corinthians 7:17 Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. (ESV).

If you read the blog post Moving into Ministry, you'll know that each of us has been given different spiritual gifts by God. One of the most difficult things to overcome when it comes to spiritual gifts, and life in general really, is the comparison game.
So often we feel like we need to compare ourselves to others. We think things like:
  • He's more spiritual than I am because he can speak in tongues.
  • She's prettier than me because she's got a thigh gap.
  • I'm so much better than her because I don't drink.
  • And on and on and on...
Comparison is a trap because it takes our focus off of the unique plan that God created for our lives. That causes several problems: we fail to accomplish things that God wants us to do which makes us feel distant from God. In addition, losing our focus causes us to feel worthless because the gifts that we have are only useful in the context of God's plan for us. Outside of that, we don't see a way for us to be successful. Sometimes, we try to force success on someone else's plan with our gifts which causes us unnecessary stress.
Another reason that comparison is harmful is that you're not comparing equivalent things. Sure, Deb (just a random name) may look like she's never struggled with gossip, but maybe you just can't see her internal struggle. Or maybe Deb's struggle is with jealousy. There's so much you can't see in the lives of other people, that it's not fair to compare them to the full picture of your own life.
So, let's all strive to compare ourselves to others less. Pray about it, and God will enable you and guide you to achieve lasting change.
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