Don’t compare yourself to others
It’s Freedom Friday!
One of the things I’ve really had to work at over the years is not to compare myself with others. When I’ve seen someone who is more successful, is smarter, stronger, better looking than me, whatever it might be, it’s easy for me to feel inferior to them, and I often have. I have to remind myself: James, don’t compare yourself to others.
Sometimes I feel guilty that I didn’t work as hard as they did. Or maybe I tried but didn’t succeed like they did. And that adds to the guilt of feeling I’m not good enough.
And sometimes I’ve compared the mistakes I’ve made in life and the sins I’ve committed to what other people have done, and it usually paralyzes me from going forward with my life. Comparing yourself to others is rarely a good idea, and it usually prevents you from making progress in your own life.
If you’re anything like me, you have compared yourself and your situation and what you’ve done to other people.
Don’t compare yourself to others, the good or the bad
Maybe you know someone who has made some serious mistakes in life, but they seem happy now. The things you’ve done wrong that still hang over you don’t seem nearly as bad as what they did, but you still feel a huge burden of guilt from your sins and they don’t.
Or maybe someone has been really successful and you haven’t been. It’s so easy to compare ourselves to other people and what they’ve done, but you never know how someone really feels on the inside.
Maybe they committed a terrible sin, but they have sincerely experienced God’s forgiveness. Or they could feel just as guilty as you do on the inside, but they’re putting on a good show on the outside.
You never know where someone else is emotionally or in their faith. You don’t know how well they’re actually dealing with or not dealing with the guilt they’ve experienced or the success they’ve experienced.
And as I said, sometimes it’s tempting to compare yourself to someone else who is more or less successful than you, more or less anything than you.
When you’re absorbed in what you’re doing or not doing what you have or don’t have compared to others, it keeps you from taking the next step toward doing and being who you are supposed to be.
When I was a full time dad
I was a full time stay at home dad for 10 years. I loved taking care of my kids, but there were times I felt really inferior as a man, as a husband and a father.
When I heard of guys younger than me being the CEO of their company, I felt really guilty. And I carried that around for several years until I finally realized that what I was doing is what God wanted me to do in that season of my life.
And when I quit comparing myself to someone else, I was free to be and do what God wanted me to be.
Jesus to Peter: Don’t compare yourself to others, John in particular
Do you remember in the Bible – it’s John chapter 21 – when Peter the disciple, learned from Jesus that he was going to face an undesirable death? Well, then he was curious about what would happen to John.
Jesus immediately cut off any inclination for Peter to compare his situation with what would happen to John. He said: “What is that to you? You follow me.”
That’s good advice for us today. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Just keep following Jesus and doing what God wants you to.
Don’t compare yourself to others: your calling, your purpose, the mistakes you’ve made, whatever it is, don’t compare any of that to someone else’s situation.
Don’t compare yourself to others, compare yourself to where you used to be
If you do want to make some comparisons, maybe you should compare yourself to who you used to be, who you were 10 years ago, last year, or even yesterday, and see how far you’ve come and the progress you’ve made, whatever happened in the past that you’re dealing with, and the guilt that feels attached to it, or whoever you’re comparing yourself to at work, at church, or wherever.
Focus on your direct relationship with God today, not what happened in the past, or being worried about what’s going to happen in the future. When you compare yourself, your sins, your spiritual progress, your perceived happiness to someone else’s, it’s actually preventing you from dealing with your own situation.
Comparison is a decoy that keeps you from facing the problem head on, dealing with it, overcoming it, and moving on with a purpose God has called you to.
And just to be really transparent here, I still have to work on this. Sometimes I catch myself comparing myself to someone else and working whatever way I have to stop and think about what God wants me to do with my life. What is God’s purpose for me?
Focus on your relationship with God and following Christ
What someone else does that’s between them and God. I have to focus on my relationship with God, and that’s what I encourage you to do as well. Work on your relationship with God.
Listen for His voice. Do what He tells you to do. Then you won’t be distracted by comparing yourself to anyone else. For whatever reason. You’ll be focused on being who God made you to be.
Now, these are just a few ideas. There are probably some other things that have been helpful to you. I would love to hear from you what those might be.
Keep this one thing in mind. Don’t compare yourself to others, because the most important thing is your relationship to God and how closely you’re following Christ.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Photo Credit: Ian Talmacs
_____________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by learning to think, pray, and love like Jesus. Contact him here.
Make a donation to support the show
Listen and leave a review on
_____________
Bible References
