Comparing Ourselves to Others…and what it does to us

Have you ever seen a picture on Facebook, or another social media site, and before you knew it, you were comparing your life to that one posted moment?

A few months ago, I realized three things…

One, I was doing it. I was comparing my life to what I thought I saw in photos – better vacations, happy families, things that looked more fun than what I was doing.  

Two, I didn’t like that I was doing it. I didn’t like that I was comparing my life to one moment someone else posted to share with others. And I didn’t like that it led to jealously and discontentment.

Three, it had to stop. Comparing my life to someone’s posted moment leads to false assumptions. It leads to looking at what God has blessed me with and thinking it’s not enough. It leads to feeling like less.

And, It. Had. To. Stop.

I don’t want to let seeing someone’s picture ruin my day. And, I don’t want someone to look at a photo I post and let it ruin their day!

Think about this for a minute. We usually share our best pictures with others, but how often do they really tell the whole story?

Behind the perfect family photo may be an hour of arguing and trying to get everyone to smile at the same time.

Behind the beautiful vacation snapshot may be the week of pouring down rain or the less than pleasant hotel experience.

Behind the lovely faces in the Christmas pictures may be the pain of the past year and uncertainty that the next year will be any better.

My friends, I am not suggesting we start sharing the worst parts of our lives. But, I am encouraging you, and myself to…

Stop comparing our lives to what we see and think is someone else’s life.

The comparisons are killing us. And the enemy loves it! We do his work for him when we compare ourselves to others and let it bring us down.

We compare looks, careers, how our kids behave, our pasts, our futures, level of education, and so much more.

And it must stop.

After my personal realization, I spent a lot of time thinking about how we compare ourselves to others, and what it does to us. I took a chance and asked a few online, and in real life, friends what they thought of a blog series about this issue. The response was overwhelming—yes, do it!

So, I’m excited (and nervous) to introduce you to a new series…

I’ve asked fellow writers to join me in this series, and every Monday, beginning January 6, I’ll be hosting a guest post on the issue of comparing ourselves to others. (This will not be a how-to series, but rather personal experiences and what God has called us to write about.)

Please visit here each Monday, and also stop by my guests’ personal blogs. I also encourage you to leave a comment whenever you feel led to do so.

*****

You might be wondering what I did about comparing my life to someone’s posted moment on Facebook…first, I stayed off of Facebook for a while. Sometimes it’s necessary to take a step back from the online world we live in.

Second, realizing that one posted moment does not tell the whole story helped me a lot. And admitting the problem is the first step to changing behavior. Right?

See you Monday!

In Christ,

Laura   

Linking up with Sharing His Beauty, #TellHisStory, Imperfect Prose, WholeHearted Wednesdays, Faith Filled Friday, Recommendation Saturday