Do you have a tendency to compare yourself to others? Playing the comparison game could take you in unhealthy and ungodly directions. We’re calling it a game because it isn’t always based on reality. Our next step usually depends on the actions, or reactions, of another person. It usually ends with winners and losers.
Results of Playing the Comparison Game
We may find ourselves to be inferior, superior, or equal enough that we feel we can be compatible.
- Comparing and Finding Ourselves Inferior
Not measuring up to others can lead to insecurity and discontent. This can result in self-striving to make ourselves better.
- Comparing and Finding Ourselves Superior
Assessing ourselves to be above others can lead to pride and arrogance. This can result in self-exaltation so others see us as better.
- Comparing and Finding Ourselves Comparable
Finding people of the same measure as us can lead to a sense of security. This can result in self-protection from those deemed better or worse.
Getting caught up in comparing ourselves to others, no matter what we find, can result in self-centered living. That isn’t what God wants for us.
What God Says About Comparing Ourselves
God tells us to fix” our eyes on Jesus” (Heb. 12:2) but it’s not about comparing ourselves to Him. We’ll lose that game every time because we all “fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). We keep our eyes on the One who died so we could be made right. He offers transformation, not a mere self-improvement plan (2 Cor. 5:17). — Grace
God’s economy is so much different than the way of the world. Rather than finding ourselves superior to those who may seem weaker than us, we raise them up. — “Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.” (1 Cor. 12:22-25) — Mercy
In Christ, as new creations, we are all equal. In Christ, “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Outward appearance, accomplishments, intelligence, strengths, and weaknesses are all peripherals. Equality isn’t based on whether we match up to each other. Community in the Body of Christ isn’t a matter of finding those with whom we’re comparable. It’s about bringing all of our differences together and becoming better because of each other. It’s about caring for one another no matter how different we may be. — Love
Rather than play the comparison game, let’s extend grace, mercy, and love to one another … maybe even to ourselves. That’s the healthy and godly way
How God relates with us grows out of His view of us. Created in the image and likeness of God, we have an inherent worth as the highest of God’s created beings. God’s loving thoughts toward us are too numerous to count. He values us so much He sent His Son Jesus to die for us so we can be in a close relationship with Him. The sin that mars us is covered over by the precious blood of Jesus so that when God looks at us, He sees His Son’s righteousness and not all that is wrong with us. Our security rests in His grace, not our personal merits.
We can be secure because God stays true to who He is. Even when we’re “faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).
