Compare or be Content

I have always been a t-shirt and jeans type of girl. Rarely​,​ if ever​,​ do I wear a pair of heels. (We do not have enough health insurance to handle the risk!!) Loving the comfortable defines who I am. Getting my nails done or spending precious minutes on my hair and makeup is low on the priority list. Extra minutes of sleep or more time to sip my coffee is where I invest.

Although this is who I am​,​ I work alongside, fellowship with, and have dear friends who are just the opposite. Never a hair gone astray or a nail left unpolished. They discuss name brands and scroll Pinterest for the latest fashion tips. 

​As I sit and listen to their discussions I am placed right in the middle of that age old game. You know the one I am talking about. I have participated in it more often than I would care to admit.

The Comparison Game

The “comparison game” has trapped us all at one time or the other. I mentioned that it is old because it makes its appearance in the first book of the Bible. Genesis is filled with a number of players.

• Cain gets caught up in comparing his sacrifice to his brother’s​,​ which leads to the first murder.
• Sara becomes jealous and bitter as she compares her infertility to that of Hagar’s ability to bare children.
• Leah names her sons with meanings that reveal the struggle she had as she compared Jacob’s affection for her to that of Rachel.
• Joseph’s brothers even go so far as to throw him into a pit over their disdain of their father’s favoritism.​
  

“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”

​In II Corinthians 10:12 Paul writes:

Those last two words pack a real punch. Paul lets us know that the comparison game is such a foolish endeavor.

Through every season of life, you can look around finding yourself either falling short or rising above the crowd that surrounds you. In this system of measurement​,​ you refer to the status quo as your benchmark. This was Paul’s point. This type of yardstick can knock you over the head or place a crown on top of your head from moment to moment.

God knows us and the struggle we are faced with daily. From fashion, to parenting,​ to​ marriage or finances, we can spin out of control at a rapid pace. How do we remain affirmed in who God made us to be, but yet ​be ​open to growth and change without being bogged down in the mire of comparison. The answer is to use a different yardstick. 

Hebrews 13:5-6 states,

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

We can be content and not filled with envy or pride when we remember that everything we have and are is directly planned by a loving God. This promise of His presence for all eternity comes with the ability to cry out to our Helper when we are drowning in the trap of comparison. I love how God even includes the opinions and effects of man because He knows we will come face to face with them on a quest to rid ourselves of man’s approval. This verse reminds us to claim victory from the worry of man’s measurement and opinion.

Be Content

Be content in who God made you to be, and then go in confidence being free from the fear of man’s evaluation. Sounds like a great plan, but I get in the way. Reminding my heart to embrace God’s design because His hands are the ones molding and shaping me is a constant state of surrender.

When I do surrender to this truth I find purpose for every one of my strengths and weakness​es​ He has orchestrated. So whether it is t-shirt and jeans in a polished nails and heels world, or another area of comparison you struggle with, just let contentment be your yardstick. You will find that instead of wanting ​to ​be what you aren’t​,​ you will truly enjoy the variety of others and the uniqueness of you.

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52-Week Gratitude Journal

​Good days begin with gratitude! This 52-week gratitude journal is on our favorites list! It's one of the best ways I know to turn an ungrateful heart into a grateful one, in a hurry! When you start writing down all the goodness God has planted in your life, it becomes more difficult to complain or compare. Grab one today and start cultivating an attitude of gratitude.

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Let contentment be your yardstick. I love that! What areas of comparison do you struggle most with?