Comparison is one word that describes our society. We compete. We fight to be the best. We win. And if we don’t, we compare. It is engrained into us as young children to pursue excellence, but over time that lesson is expounded into a desire for perfection; a desire to be number one; a need to be better than the person next to us. We only feel valued if others are valuing us. We only feel approved when we gain the approval of others. We only feel loved when we have “earned” the love we desire. And often, those feelings of value, approval, and love seem best when they are given to us at the expense of others.

The thing is, comparison kills. It is deadly. It steals your joy. It destroys your growth. Comparison focuses on the things I don’t have. It focuses on this world. It leads to envy and jealousy. It leads to a stagnant lifestyle because your growth is contingent on the growth of the one you are comparing to.

Comparison wrecks your spiritual life. It keeps you from receiving advice. It allows your pride to overtake your progress. It distracts you from what God is trying to teach you now by keeping you focused on the things you will not understand until later.

Comparison takes your focus off of the Lord. It makes your attention horizontal rather than vertical. Instead of Christ being the goal, your goal is to look or act or be like ___________ (fill in the blank). Comparison removes your spiritual vision and makes you approach life with sinful eyes. It makes you numb to the truth because you are distracted by lies. You no longer see yourself the way your Heavenly Father sees you, but through the broken ideals of man.

Comparison breaks your heart.

But as Christians, we do not have to live in this life of comparison. We do not have to live in heartbreak, in pride, with faulty vision, in a deadly cycle. We have the ability, through the saving grace of Jesus, to live no longer in bondage to sin, or to comparison (Romans 6:6). We have the freedom, and the encouragement, to run the race of faith together. We are not competing with one another, because we are all headed toward the same goal: our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are all pursuing intimacy with the Lord. We do not have to compare our outward appearances, because our worth is in reflecting the image of God and being adopted into his family. We do not have to live in jealousy and bitterness for the understanding or abilities we lack, but we can walk alongside each other and learn from one another.

Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

If God’s works are wonderful, and I am a work of God, then that means that I am wonderful, not in comparison to others, but simply and as a matter of fact, I am wonderful. And when I see myself the way God sees me, that comparison dissipates, because my worth is not based on the person next to me. My worth is what GOD, my Creator, says about me. And He says that I am wonderfully made!! Even in the midst of brokenness, my value is in the person and power and work of Jesus.

You see, comparison, in the end, is selfishness. It is valuing my appearance over the presence and role of Jesus Christ. It says “I want people to see my accomplishments” instead of saying “Let me show you what God has accomplished in my heart.”

But PRAISE GOD because we have the JOY as Christians, to know that we are FREE from comparison. Why? Because life is not about ME. HE is greater than I. And He is greater than the person from which you compare. He is the goal!! And if He is the goal and He is the supreme satisfaction of our hearts, we don’t need to settle for the need to be greater than the people around us. We do not need to settle into a life of comparison and constant disappointment.

Wow. What a gift. In this moment, I can breathe a sigh of relief. Thank you, God, that I can let go of the need to be perfect and the constant comparison because Your Son covered me with His righteousness. And thank you, Holy Spirit, for hard life lessons like this that lead to sanctification. What a gracious God we serve!

I pray that each of you can experience the same freedom in the unconditional love and perfection of our Savior.