Do you ever compare yourself to others? I do. I’ll go ahead and admit that I sometimes try and size up people in the first few minutes with one standard-bearing question: Are they better than me, or am I better than them? It’s all very subjective, I don’t literally wonder if I’m a better person than someone; but I do wonder if my house is bigger, if my salary is larger, if my church is more heavily attended, if my marriage is healthier, and any other way that I could possibly walk away with a win in this dangerous “compare game.”

Now that you’ve lost total respect for me as a human being, let me say that I believe when you are left to your own human devices, that you are the exact same way. Think about it, how do you feel when you come back from a mission trip where you saw children without adequate clothes and housing? You feel terrible and sad, and leave with an appreciation for NOT being where they are, doing what they are doing. And how do you feel when you leave the dinner party of some fabulously rich medical professional? You feel terrible and sad, and leave with an appreciation for all they have that I do NOT have yet. If you’re not this person, then thank God for people like you.

As I’ve matured and grown to accept my place in the world (cue the Michael W. Smith song), I’ve learned to rise above this stupid “Compare Game.” I’m grown tired of trying to measure myself against the things and people I have no control over. As I read 2 Corinthians 10:12 from The Message Bible, I’m reminded that to compare myself with others is totally missing the point.

2 Corinthians 10:12 “But in all this comparing and grading and competing, they quite miss the point.”

Here are four reasons why the “Compare Game” is a losing proposition:

1. I unfairly compare myself to others. I can’t compare my 2 year journey through Bible College with the Doctor that spent 10 years in medical school. Apples and oranges my friend.
   
2. I compare the GAINS of others and not the LOSSES. We do such a great job sometimes of covering the losses of others, and only seeing the positive. Some people have much more than me, because they’ve given up much more than me.
   
3. I tend to overlook my own personal success. I have been good at some things, but when I play the compare game I’m often leaving my own success hidden in the background.
   
4. I disapprove of my own choices. When I fail to take ownership of my own choices in life, then it become easy to be the loser when playing the compare game.

On this great journey of being myself, may the Lord help me to see myself in the light of his wonderful grace and never-ending mercy. I’m striving to only compare myself with the perfect one, Jesus. In this game I always fall short, but it has never kept me from Him.

It’s the final day of Guest Blogging on Swerve with the Kendra Golden.  Don’t miss it!

Continuing the discussion from David Staal’s book, Words Kids Need to Hear.  Here is #5 of 7 things my kids need to hear from me.

#5…

“Because”

Here are my takeaways…

• …the difference between a boy or girl just hearing your voice and actually believing what you say depends on whether or not you provide an authentic rationale – the words you add after you say, “because”.
• This word, used effectively as the start of a reasoned, rational statement, offers you a unique opportunity to make your messages powerful.
• How can a child distinguish a parent’s authentic affirmation, commitment, or affection from the hollow hype she hears virtually everywhere else?
• It’s time for we parents to take back authenticity – one “because” at a time

Does your child take what you say to heart?

From my kids…

• 2 year olds don’t like it when they don’t get their way.  i’ve always known this, but my son feels the need to remind me occassionally.
• there are certain socks for certain shoes.  it has nothing to do with the sock color but has everything to do with the seam, where it sits on the toe and how it is affected by the shoe.  oh. my. word.
• my 8 year old can eat his weight in cereal
• a spider man pajama top can double for their shirt the following day.  sweet

from reading…

• my worship is very self-centered… but i’m learning how to change that
• my world is too safe
• sometimes i just don’t agree with what Paul says (heresy, i know)

from my friends…

• focusing too much on a problem brings me to a place of worshiping the problem.  focusing on God and submitting the problem to Him keeps me in a place of worshiping Him
• the holy discontent God placed inside me is easily buried by the tyranny of the urgent

hope all my blogging peeps have a great weekend.  see you on twitter