Finding Our Past

“I wish I could play the piano as good as they can.”

“At least I’m a better swimmer than she is.”

“I finally got a better exam grade than he did!”

Comparison, at first, may seem fun—like a contest—especially when you win. But when we compare, we either begin to become prideful or discouraged. We either think we’re superior to everyone else, or we put ourselves down and begin to feel we aren’t good enough or don’t measure up.

But this is not what God says. We are neither higher nor lower than our brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, we aren’t supposed to rank ourselves at all because we are all made one through the Holy Spirit. In the Kingdom of God, status doesn’t matter. Unity does.

Comparing will never help you because you aren’t someone else. God has made you unique, with a combination of talents and passions that no one else in history has ever had, and He has empowered you to use those gifts to serve in the Body of Christ in a way that nobody else can. You are one of a kind, so why try to be anyone else?

So when you’re tempted to compare, come back to who God says you are. If you know Jesus, you are God’s beloved child, a member of His global family. Do your best—not for the approval of others or to be the best in the world but because God is the One who made you this way, for His Kingdom. • Abby Ciona

• What are some ways God has gifted you to serve?

• In Christ, believers are united through the Holy Spirit around one common goal: making disciples (Matthew 28:16-20). When we recognize other believers as members of the same team instead of competitors, how does that change the way we compare ourselves to each other?

• How can valuing others over yourself and your desires help you fight comparison?

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalm 66:5; 136:12-16