We often get caught in a comparison trap.
Who has it all together more than the next person?
Loosing sleep multiple nights, I obsess over the many lists for the next day and week ahead. Coffee, quiet time, messages, workout and breakfast before the children even rise. Then cram in school, chores, appointments, errands, and activities. We must also not forget meals and maybe some fun time. That’s only Monday. What about leisure and self-care for myself or anything I need to accomplish for my husband and volunteer obligations. I don’t have it all together despite my lists, calendars and cell phone telling me that I am on track.
I am willing to bet that all of those women that I compare myself to don’t have it all together either. Closets are probably bursting in a dark corner of an impeccable house. Children are probably sassy under those well-groomed smiles. Husbands are needy despite their gourmet meals. Self-care is probably waiting in the wings long enough to catch a good amount of dust.
We may wear many hats and plaster a steady smile across our tired faces, but we may wonder what does comparison gain us? Most likely we will attain performance and emotional fatigue.
A new priority should take over our weary lives. The Lord should be what moves us to accomplish these works, not shiny facades of life. We are actually commanded to look to Him above all of these things. After we accomplish the first part, it will extend to the rest of our lives.
Mark 12:30-31 NIV
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
I don’t want loving the Lord to be a check mark off of a to-do list. I don’t want my quiet time to be an idol to be a badge attesting to all that I have accomplished. This should be a thing that is just known because His love is shining through me and not because some piece of paper says so.
Let us take a new day to serve Him, tackling our way through life with Him on the forefront keeping us on track. Allow for Him to use you to produce fruit and not as someone just going through the motions. And most of all, let His love show through us as we treat others in kindness instead of scoffing in comparison.
Beautifully written! Thank you for the reminder!
Thanks for writing this. Comparison seems to be a theme which keeps coming up with different bloggers lately. I’ve written 2 articles on it myself in the last month. It lies at the heart of most of our unhappiness, and even provides the impetus to fall into sin in many different ways. There’s always the problem of comparing up or comparing down instead of fixing our eyes on Jesus.
Beautiful! Thank you for this reminder. We women especially compare ourselves to the Supermoms we see on social media all the time; but we only see the highlights they want us to see. Help me, Lord, to abide in You and hear Your voice, Good Shepherd.
This is so important! This conviction has been on my heart recently – the idea that my worth lies in Christ’s sacrifice for me, and that my response to that is the only thing that matters. It doesn’t matter what I used to do, or what the people around me are doing. It’s a hard perspective to ingrain! But so worth it 🙂
I see so many moms struggle and compare styles of parenting and family. Instead of embracing the differences of how each family is they tend to either judge each others lives. The truth is the only one we need to compare our selves to is Christ. Are we being more christ like every day?