There is Only One You

When my daughter was little, she loved VeggieTales. The was the last line of almost every movie was…

“God made you special, and He loves you very much.” 

~ VeggieTales

I heard it over and over and over. The other day, it came to mind, not because we were watching it (although, I still enjoy a good VeggieTales now and again), but because I’ve been thinking a lot about how we compare ourselves to others.

God made each of us unique in our own way—how we look, how we think, our talents, what our passions are—and though we’re different, each one of us is special. Because that’s how God made us.

But the temptation to look at someone else and compare myself to her is so great. You know what I’m talking about, right? We compare our looks, accomplishments, how our kids act, our past, our strengths and failures, and so many other things, and it makes what we have look like less. It makes us think of ourselves as less than.

My friends, God does not compare His children to one another. And He doesn’t want us to do so either. {Tweet this}

If He wanted us all alike, He would have made us that way…little cookie-cutter people with the same looks and interests, the same talents and accomplishments. But He didn’t because He loves each of us the way we are—the person He made us to be.

God made you special, and He loves you very much.

Each of us has a place in this world and a purpose. But when we start comparing and trying to be someone we’re not, we end up in the wrong place, and our purpose gets muddled.

So, what do we do when we’re tempted to compare ourselves to someone else, wishing we were like them?

Instead of comparing, what if we looked at how we complement each other? You have talents I don’t have, just as I have interests that aren’t your cup of tea. Sizing ourselves up against each other takes something away from each of us—we start to judge each other and think less of ourselves.

Instead of comparing, what if we cheer each other on? Encouraging those close to us in what they have to offer, and making the decision not to judge those we don’t know. And not thinking less of ourselves because someone is able to do something that we aren’t, or has something that we don’t.

Comparing can bring out the worst in us—jealousy, envy, spite—none of which God intended for us to be consumed with. But we live in a fallen world…and we will fight this temptation.

  

But the truth will always be the same—God made you special, and He loves you very much.

There is only one you and if you try to be someone else, we don’t get to see the one special you God created. And the world misses out. {Tweet this}

In Christ,

Laura 

[Photo credit: Unsplash.com]

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