Have you ever questioned why someone else’s life is much better or why they are gifted with so much, then you begin to look at your talents and feel you don’t measure up? My friend, you just fell into the trap of comparison. The devil likes to use this tactic to hinder and block our blessings as well as not see the gifts and talents God placed within us. Comparison is a thief that can rob you of your peace and self-esteem. It can also hinder your walk with the Lord if you are not careful. It can make you jealous or even envy others and James 3:15-16 says “For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder of every evil kind.” Surely, this is not how God wants us to live our lives.
I want to bring you to Galatians 6:4-5 which says “pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.” Let’s unpack this for a moment. We are each called and on a special assignment from the Lord. No assignment is the same because we are all different and carry different gifts that enable us to do our own calling correctly. When we are focused on our own calling and pleasing the Lord, we will want to do a great job and in the end, we will be successful. This is why we don’t need to compare ourselves because each person is gifted and called in their own assignment. We are all responsible for what we do and don’t do in this life and how we fulfilled our given assignments.
Philippians 2:13 says “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” Each one of us has been given a burning desire by the Lord to fulfill our given assignment. God works in us by stirring up our own gifts and talents to do what He’s called us to do and to deeply desire it. To illustrate this clearly, Psalm 139:14 says “thank you for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it.” There is only one of you. God created you so wonderfully complex, or another translation says fearfully and wonderfully made. King David understood that he was created by the Lord for a specific assignment and he acknowledged that there is only one of him.
There is no need to be jealous or envy other people. In fact, we don’t even know the other side to it. Many people try to show all the good in their lives through social media, but there are always two sides to every story. We cannot assume that they have a perfect life, because that is simply not true. So quit comparing yourself, be like King David and thank the Lord for the abilities and gifts He placed within you. Thank the Lord that you are coming closer to the man or woman God has called you to be. If you are unsure of your calling, ask the Lord and He will guide you!
