The Crazy Cycle of Comparison
- Aug 14, 2017
- 2 min read
Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get
the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare
yourself to anyone else.
- Galatians 6:4-5
A spiritual gift is given to each of us...
- 1 Corinthians 12:7
Everyone has done it. Whether it’s comparing your number of friends or followers on social media, or that insatiable appetite to measure ourselves against that parent who seems to always have it all together. Maybe it’s that friend from high school who’s now climbed up the corporate ladder, while you remain struggling to keep your job afloat. Whatever shape or form, comparison always throws us into a crazy cycle of discontent and discouragement, along with the restless feeling of “not being enough.”
Maybe that’s why Paul encourages us to attend to “our own work” and recognize that the Holy Spirit has given each of us a spiritual gift. Some have been given the gift to encourage others with words, while some have the gift to serve with their hands. Others have the gift of leadership, while some have the gift of teaching. Whatever gift that may be, the purpose is to bring glory to God and build others up (1 Corinthians 12:7). When we stop comparing ourselves with others, and start serving them instead with the gift/s God has given us, we get the satisfaction of a job well done. That cycle of discontent and discouragement turns into a cycle of satisfaction and hope, knowing that God has equipped us to make a difference.
Get started today. Ask God to show you the gift He has placed in your life. Read 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12. Then take your place in His community by serving your family, your co-workers, your church, and all the other spheres of influence in your life.
You have a significant role to play. Do it well without the craziness of comparison.
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