Stop comparing yourself to everyone else.

Comparison kills us no matter what.

If we look around at other people and find ourselves lacking, we may be tempted to jealousy and resentment. We might wish we had what others have – patience, talents, possessions. When we focus on wishing for what we don’t have, we lose sight of the gifts we do have – whether spiritual or temporal.

On the other hand, if we compare ourselves to others and deem them to be less than – like the Pharisee in today’s Gospel reading did – we give in to the sin of pride. We focus on all their bad qualities and say to ourselves: “At least I’m not like that.” We may even be tempted to give ourselves a pass for our sins, because in our eyes, the sins of others are so much worse than ours.

Self-evaluation simply must not be based on comparison to those around us. The only way to know our true worth is through an honest, introspective look at who we are when we stand before Almighty God. This self-evaluation leads to two important realizations.

  1. All of us – every single one of us – me! I am a sinner before God. He is perfect love and goodness. I am imperfect, and I will always fall short of being the person God calls me to be.
  2. Despite this, Jesus loves me so much he took my sinfulness upon himself, paid the price, and restored me to dignity and good standing in the Father’s eyes.

I am a sinner. But God loves me with an infinite love.

God wants us to abandon ourselves humbly to his forgiveness. He doesn’t want holiness to be a competition between us and everybody else. He doesn’t want it to be about who we’re “better” or “worse than.”

Holiness is about humbly acknowledging our faults, and letting God in with his grace and his mercy. We are all sinners. And if only we can acknowledge that, God longs to exalt us.

Stop looking around at everybody else. Stop comparing. Reflect only on who you are in God’s eyes, and turn to him to transform you to become the person he’s calling you to be.

Sara Estabrooks, author at To Jesus, Sincerely invites you to pray and reflect along with her on her blog. Together, we can lift our hearts and minds to God, seeking to walk the path of holiness He sets before us.

 


 

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