I just love my guest today in our "Comparing Ourselves to Others...and what it does to us." series. She is Sharita Knobloch, and you can find her at 7 Days Time, where she encourages everyone to find Jesus in the everyday. I can't even remember when Sharita and I first connected because it feels like we've always been online friends...hopefully to meet in real life soon. (Yay!) Please make her feel welcome here by leaving a comment and be sure to visit her at 7 Days Time. ~ Laura
It
happens in the blink of an eye.
Before
I can stop myself, I am looking at her up and down, and thoughts zip through my
mind.
“Look at that long, blond hair.
I bet she dyes it.”
“Ug. I will NEVER let my kids
behave that way.”
“Sigh. I wish I was as skinny as
she is…”
While I
totally hate these ugly roots of mine (I mean in my heart, not my hair) it is a
very real experience for me. Honestly, God has been working on me for some time
in this comparison dilemma. I have come a
long way but it is still… so… stinking…
hard.
Nowhere
in God’s loving heart or holy plan did he say, “I shall design people with
different characteristics so they can compare their attributes against one
another to fuel jealousy and doubt my character.”
Yeah,
no.
He did,
however, give us His Word in the Bible that speaks against comparing ourselves
to others.
“A heart at peace gives life to
the body, but envy rots the bones.” ~Proverbs 14:30
“Don’t compare yourself with
others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you
can with your own life.” ~Galatians 6:5 MSG
“Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” ~1 Corinthians 13:4
As
these verses show us, comparison can been the root of envy, pride, conceit, and
discontentment. When we compare, we are essentially questioning God’s goodness
and faithfulness. We aren’t trusting Him with His plans, His gifts, His design
for our lives. Ouch.
Here’s
another problem with this comparison game. It drives a wedge between us and
other people, be it friends, families or strangers. When we fill our heart with
the “If onlys” or the “I wish I had” or “Why can’t I,” it becomes a playground
for Satan. He starts working overtime to make those comparisons deep-seeded
enough to impact our relationship with God. (See previous paragraph.)
It’s an
ugly, vicious cycle.
Oh. And
we can’t forget social media’s role in this cycle. While platforms like
Facebook can be a great tool to witness, it can also be a source of heartache.
Example:
You log onto Facebook or Twitter and see something like this: “What a great day! Hubby got promoted, I
cleaned my entire house in 18 minutes, completed 33 new Pinterest projects, the
kids were angels and the puppy potty-trained himself. Oh, and we are expecting
a baby!”
We then
compare their wonderful, glamorous life to our day filled with poopy diapers, a
car that wouldn’t start, a dog that puked on the carpet (again) and more bills to
pay. Remember, sweet friends: when we compare our lives to others, oftentimes we are comparing their best moments with
our worst.
And
that’s not a very level playing field if you ask me.
Can you
imagine what our world would be like if we would stop comparing ourselves to others
and compare ourselves to Christ? After all—HE
is the One we are following.
Instead
of being smug with how well our kids behave compared to those “other parents,”
why don’t we extend love and mercy?
We don’t know their story.
Instead
of feeling jealous or defeated when someone else has more Facebook page likes
or Twitter followers, we should be happy
for them… And maybe even seek to learn from them.
Instead
of comparing our physical attributes to our neighbor or friend or stranger, why
can’t we simply be thankful that God
made us, fearfully and wonderfully, physical limitations and all?
Take
some time to pray and ask God to show you the comparative parts of your heart.
Seek to live in Him, reaching for the standards He has set for us, not what our flesh or the world tells us.
Be
bold. Dig deep. Take this dare not to
compare… Because God loves you just the way you are, complete with those grumpy
kids, frizzy hair, Cheerios-ground-in-the-carpet and all.
*****
Sharita
Knobloch describes herself as a Jesus-loving, enthusiastically creative
minister, writer, and Spiritual Leadership Coach. She loves encouraging others
to find Jesus in the everyday and live in His light through blogging and
coaching at
7 Days Time Ministry.
She adores her family, specifically her
Beloved army infantry husband Brandon, their sweet daughter Charis and goofy
little dog
Justus.
Sharita enjoys exploring her current “home” state of Washington, breaking in
new journals with inky pens, and eating square(s) of dark chocolate in the
bathtub.
