Quit Compairing!

2 Corinthians10:12 says, "For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But we measure ourselves by ourselves, and we compare ourselves with ourselves."

Kinley has been going to gymnastics for over a year and a half.  Yesterday, as we were getting ready for her class, she told me she didn’t want to go.  As I was trying to get to the bottom of why she all of a sudden wanted to quit, she finally told me she wasn’t as good as some of the other kids in her class.  Wow, I was a little taken back by her answer because I’ve always felt she was great ( I know I’m her mother but…) she always seemed pretty excited about going.  Then I got to thinking, since when did she start comparing herself to other children her age?

Just like Kinley, in our culture a lot of times people advise us to compare ourselves with others. “You can win, the others aren’t near as good as you”, “It’s beyond me; I’ll never be as good as they are. Besides, does it really matter?” or, “I’m not ever going to compare to what she’s doing…”etc., we all do it.  We all compare ourselves to someone and come up short in our own eyes.  And then we are discouraged. 

Unfortunately, this is the plan of the enemy: that we intimidate one another and drive one another into defeatism.  There have been many occasions I do nothing because my own pessimistic attitude gets the best of me.

Thankfully, God never gives up that easily.  His plan is that we inspire and encourage each other to perfection.  In the body of Christ, we are not meant to compare or compete, but to compliment each other.  “There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:4).  “The body does not consist of one member but of many” (verse 14).  The Lord has equipped every one of us with spiritual gifts and he distributes them as He sees fit. Just because I am the eye in the body, and I don’t have the same function as the Foot, doesn’t mean I need to give up.  The Truth is… the foot would not be directed without the eye. There should be no division in the body and we should all have concern for everyone else. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, then every part rejoices with it. We are all appointed by God for a specific role and we are all too eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Although Kinley has many more years of nurturing to learn her beautiful talents that Christ has given her, it’s made me realize that instead of looking to the world for standards, I’ve got to continue to find my own unique plan in my life.  God has called each of us to our own mission and, no one’s mission is exactly like anyone else’s.  We have been called to write our own story and when we cooperate with him in the authorship, those stories are more beautiful than any we’ve ever read or anything that could ever compare. So, for today, I will try to surround myself with only things that encourage me, educate me, and build me up so that I can build his kingdom on earth.

“What you are is God’s gift to you;

What you do with yourself is your gift to God.”

Danish proverb