Don’t Compare!
One of the hardest things about hard things is that they always seem to be uniquely our hard things. Permit me to explain!
When something difficult comes into our life, when we suffer, when we’re discouraged or hurting, it’s natural to feel isolated by our trials. This emotion is conveyed in the poignant rhetorical question most of us have voiced when hard things hit: “Why me?” The “why me” question implies that we’re the only ones burdened with such trials, an insight that comes by superficially surveying the lives of those around us and comparing our troubles with theirs. “Why me?” wants to know why they’ve got it better than us.
The irony of this attitude is that it is most certainly factually untrue. It may seem to us that others’ lives are relatively trouble free in comparison with our own, but they’re not. Everyone has their cross to bear. Some just have a more public one to carry. But even hidden crosses are still heavy. And so comparing our lives with others’ yields false conclusions and produces unnecessarily bleak emotions. That’s why Paul the Apostle writes in 2Cor. 10:12: “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.”
So here’s a powerful biblical principle that, if followed, will significantly increase your faith and enjoyment of life with Christ: don't compare! Don’t look at God’s blessings in the lives of other believers and get bent out of shape that He hasn’t treated you the same! Comparative Christianity will make you ungrateful for the blessings you do have while rendering you incapable of trusting God for those He has yet to bestow.
Do you believe that Christ is with you now and always, guiding your steps and straightening your way? If you’re His child by faith, He absolutely is. He is the Master who gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him. He is the Author of our salvation who delights in weaving an utterly unique and beautiful story of each believer’s life. But to comprehend His work, we must be willing to reject all comparisons. We must be willing to jettison the “why me?” question and ask instead, “why NOT me?”
Evidently, this was a difficult challenge to Jesus’ disciple Peter. Even after Christ’s resurrection, he was comparing his life with others in deciding if God was fair. We see this in his last conversation with Christ: ‘I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, ‘Follow me!’ Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one, who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is going to betray you?’) When Peter saw him, he asked, ‘Lord, what about him?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me’ (John 21:18-22).
I can understand Peter’s curiosity. He’s just been told how he will die. Can we blame him for asking the “why me?” question and wondering if his friends faced a similar fate? But Jesus’ reply is blunt: “None of your business, Pete! I tell no one anyone’s story but his own.” This time, Peter understood. The Lord doesn’t issue cookie-cutter callings. When Peter got his eyes off others and accepted God’s unique work in his own life, the greatest chapters of his story unfolded. Christ’s message to us is the same: please don’t compare!
Don’t Compare Yourself!!! God is writing a bestseller, and you are His co-author. Your history is the plot-line, your experiences the setting, your faith responses is the dramatic tension. Insisting that He craft your story to mirror others is a demand for boring sameness. God is the Maker, the Master of new things, the Singer of new songs. Don’t insult His creativity by asking Him to plagiarize old stories.
In your experience, God is creating something special. Trust Him to do a good job. No matter how bleak your prospects, no matter how blessed your peers, be assured that if Christ is your King, every heartache is but a new chapter in your story. Never forget: in a masterpiece, every chapter is not only elegant, but essential. Let the Almighty Author finish!
I’m so glad that Joseph didn’t bail out on God during his stints in the pit and the prison. Moses endured the desert, Paul the dungeon, and Daniel the den of lions. Jacob did twenty hard years in Haran and John was imprisoned on Patmos. These adversities were necessary interludes in the great stories God created around these heroes in His Faith Hall of Fame.
Joseph transcended prison to become a Prime Minister. Daniel in the lion’s den slept peacefully with his feline friends. Jacob traded the moniker “manipulator of men” for “Prince of God”. Moses took up a rod and released the Hebrew slaves. In solitary silence, John received The Revelation. During legendary journeys, Paul mediated God’s revelation. Each allowed the Divine Writer to finish the story. Each received God’s best because they left the choice with Him. Each trusted until every sentence was crafted, every paragraph polished, every chapter completed. Won’t you do the same? The result will be yet another masterpiece.
(Added 2.17.13)
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