The Comparing Game

I'm going to be honest here, because this is something I struggle with a lot. I tend to compare myself to other people all the time. It works both ways- sometimes I come out better in a comparison, and sometimes worse. However, both have negative consequences. When I compare myself to someone and decide that I'm nicer, smarter, whatever, I tend to get prideful. But when I compare myself to someone and they're prettier, more likeable, whatever, my self-esteem takes a hit. It's this crazy cycle of pride and low self-esteem!

It's ridiculous what you can convince yourself of when you're playing the comparing game. When I want to feel like a good student, I compare myself to the partyers and slackers in my class. I tell myself that I work so much harder then them. I'm more organized, more wise with my time, smarter, better (Pride!). But when I see other students in my class studying more, getting better grades, and being more dedicated, I feel like a failure in comparison. I say that "at least I still go out and have fun- I don't study ALL the time" to make me feel better about not measuring up. So in one scenario, I paint myself to be the perfect student, and in the other I don't measure up.

I think a lot of Christians try to make themselves seem better by comparison. They may know what they're doing is wrong, but they justify it by saying that they're not as bad as everyone else. For instance, they may know that sex before marriage is wrong, but they justify it by saying, "Well, at least I'm not hooking up with a different person each weekend. My boyfriend and I are in a committed relationship and we love each other." The truth is, what you're doing is still wrong, even if it's not as bad as what everyone else is doing! God has not called us to be slightly better than the people around us. He's called us to a radical & crazy, but absolutely abundant life following Him!

When we try to have the "best of both worlds", we're really missing out. We can't try to fit in with other people's standards and still follow God. When we compare ourselves to other people, it's pointless, because God hasn't asked us to be better than other people. He's called us to follow Him. He's called us to be like HIM! It shouldn't matter what anyone else is or isn't doing. If everyone around us is falling into sin, still we should follow God. If everyone around us is leading a fruitful life and doing great things, still we should follow God. We should do what he's called us to do, regardless of what everyone else is doing. Following God's will is not a place of pride, but of peace and true happiness!